Well-being - The health minister instructs to shut down the clinic atlas.
Recently, Niedersachsen's Health Minister, Andreas Philippi, has urged for an immediate stop regarding the criticism of the newly launched clinic atlas. He claims that the speedy implementation of the state comparison portal for hospitals is now causing chaos and harming both citizens and hospitals. The hospital reform is still under negotiation, so the portfolio can be set up again and effectively managed after the law is enforced.
In a joint statement from the Health Ministry in Hanover and the Lower Saxony Hospital Association (NKG), they mention Lauterbach saying, "You've managed to incite hospitals across the country, and your clinic atlas is a complete downer for everyone since your colleagues feel like they're under the spotlight due to the glaring inaccuracies. Patients are exhausted and bewildered."
Philippi, an SPD politician, believes that hospitals should not need to deal with a state information service filled with errors. "Data accuracy is paramount", he insists. Since the clinic atlas went online in mid-May, there have been numerous reports of inaccurate, incorrect, or missing hospital data. Philippi had even voiced concerns about the viability of the new state comparison portal for hospitals in May.
Just a few days ago, the Federal Health Ministry in Berlin guaranteed that the portal would be continuously updated. They take feedback from, for example, medical professional associations seriously, who provide vital tips for changes, according to the ministry from last week. Updates should happen continuously.
The main purpose of the clinic atlas is to partner with the significant hospital reform, bringing fundamental changes to funding and setting uniform quality standards for the roughly 1,700 hospitals in Germany. However, the Lower Saxony Hospital Association (NKG) criticizes the situation due to the tight financial circumstances, heavy workload, and lack of skilled workers. "With the clinic atlas, the federal government has just added another burden, completely disrupting the atmosphere of the staff", says NKG's managing director, Helge Engelke.
