Handicap organisation calls for hospital "Michelin Guide":
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Walter Hirrlinger, president of the German handicapped and pensioners' association VdK, has called for the introduction of a type of "Michelin Guide" to hospitals, last week in Berlin. He pointed out that preliminary league tables had already been drawn up in the federal states of Bavia and Hamburg. He added this would offer transparency to patients about the operating procedures of hospitals. Mr Hirrlinger also believed that this would encourage healthy competition, which would lead to better medical care. He also warned health insurance funds not to introduce a two-tier system, whereby patients would be reimbursed for basic treatments, but would then have the option to pay for others. "The VdK will fight every effort to part-privatise the health insurance funds," he said.