Current German DRG (diagnosis related groups) system "threatens innovation"
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Germany's new diagnosis related groups (DRG) system for hospital reimbursement is threatening the adoption of innovative medical technology into the health service because it focuses too heavily on financial costs, claims Bernhard Rochell, DRG expert at the federal doctors' chamber (BAK). Speaking last week in Berlin, he said that at present it appeared that hospitals and sickness funds were "pulling at opposite ends of the same rope". He advised: "For new procedures we need qualitative arguments, especially where costs are seen to rise."