The Union supports the initiative of the panel doctors to charge a fee for patients who come to the emergency room without a prior telephone assessment.
In a Bundestag application, which is available to the editorial network Germany (RND/Thursday), the CDU/CSU proposes a fee of 20 euros. This would noticeably relieve rescue services and emergency ambulances and, in particular, significantly increase the quality and intensity of the treatment of real emergencies, the Union argues.
According to the proposal, people who are not brought in by the emergency services or who do not have a doctor’s referral must call 112 or the medical on-call service on 116117. There, an initial assessment is made and, if necessary, an appointment for the emergency room is made.
Anyone who goes to the emergency room without a call and an appointment should pay 20 euros according to the will of the Union. “We want to introduce a model in Germany similar to that in Denmark to ensure that real emergencies are treated quickly in the emergency rooms and that they are no longer blocked by patients with trifles,” said CSU health politician Stephan Pilsinger to the RND.
In mid-April, Kassenärzte boss Andreas Gassen made a similar demand to relieve the emergency rooms. “Anyone who can still go to an emergency room themselves is often not a real medical emergency,” Gassen had told the RND. However, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) rejected the initiative. (dpa)
