German doctors call on Bundesrat to stop DRGs (diagnosis related groups:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The German association of hospital-based doctors and staff, the Marburger Bund, has called on the Upper House (Bundesrat) to block the diagnosis related groups (DRG) system bill at its plenary sitting at the end of January. The association claims that the bill to reform hospital reimbursement will intensify the problem of unpaid overtime in hospitals it aims to ensure that more patients are treated in a shorter period of time. Marburger Bund chairman Dr Frank-Ulrich Montgomery said: "Health minister Ulla Schmidt and Employment minister Walter Riester have decided to close their ears to the theme of overtaxed doctors. It now remains with the Bundesrat, as the only political means of putting a speedy end to this undignified chapter of German hospital policy."