Expected medical reform in Bavaria
Wolfgang Ritter, the head of the Bavarian Association of Family Doctors (Bayerischer Hausärzteverband), announced his support for the "Primary Care Physician System" plan that both the Union parties (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) seek to implement, emphasizing the need for it to be non-mandatory and to rely on incentives rather than compulsion, just ahead of the Bavarian Family Doctor Day taking place next week in the city of Erlangen (May 16 and 17).
The governing coalition's plan stipulates that patients must first visit a family doctor before going to any specialist. This doctor either treats the patient himself or refers him to a specialist as needed. International scientific studies have indicated that countries adopting this model achieve better treatment outcomes and lower costs.
Reiter emphasized the importance of developing healthcare contracts that focus on family doctors, which have been in place for about 20 years, stressing that these contracts have provided innovative solutions in partnership with health insurance companies, and are more successful than mandatory laws.
So far, the percentage of insured individuals participating in these contracts in Bavaria and in Germany overall is less than one-seventh. Therefore, the Association of Family Physicians suggests that the next government adopt financial incentives such as bonuses or reductions in insurance contributions for individuals who commit to a fixed family doctor, which could encourage the actual implementation of the system.
The union rejected the criticisms made by the "Bavarian Specialist Association", which claims that this system will weaken the quality of healthcare, emphasizing that there is no scientific evidence supporting this claim.