Few countries measure up to the well-renowned German healthcare system when it comes to getting proper healthcare. While many people know that it is a pretty good system, most people aren’t aware of why an hour has earned this reputation around the world. So, let’s dive a little deeper into Germany’s appreciation for good health care and how it earned it. You might be surprised to see that many elements allow this country to outpace many others when it comes to the quality of health care. One such thing is their massive strides in technology in the medical field.
First and foremost, when we discuss the reputation of German healthcare it’s important to understand it in the context of how health care is generally in Europe. Generally, in the West, most healthcare systems are pretty much funded by the government and taxes. While many countries have a multi-tiered system when it comes to healthcare the reality is that most people usually benefit from nationalized healthcare insurance. Despite this, there is still a private component that allows people with more money to access certain care more easily than others. Places like Belgium and Canada, for example, have a three-tiered healthcare system in which you can also attend university-sponsored clinics which are both privately and publicly funded. So, let’s take a look at why the German system is particularly more renowned than the others.
One of the reasons why many people talk about the German system more than the others is that while they invest a lot in their health care system in general there is a lot of specific funding directed towards things that many other countries do not necessarily prioritize. One such thing is the research and development of many things that end up being exported to other countries. Take Refluxgate, a digital health-care startup in the acid reflux space, for example. It started out as a German website before expanding to English markets, including the US, and is now also involved in drug development for Silent Reflux. One many people might consider the research on ways to deal with acid reflux somewhat of a lesser priority the reality is that many people deal with heartburn and acid reflux as the symptom of a chronic condition. Following the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen that chronic conditions are not only widespread, but they can be potential comorbidities when dealing with other more aggressive illnesses.
There is a very real discussion in Germany currently though because of the state of the healthcare system post covid 19. There’s been a lot of trial and error trying to fix this issue that has been caused by the overburdening of general practitioners during the pandemic. While many patients are used to having adequate care and frequent appointments with their doctors the reality is that this has changed drastically because of the high demand for doctors during the pandemic. So currently Germany is trying to find how to address this issue caused by the shortening of general appointments. One of the issues that causes this current state of affairs is that general practitioners are only reimbursed for a single patient per quarter. This means that they are incentivized to rush patients once the quarter is over so they can see a new one instead of granting more time to a patient who might need it. This of course is not a problem only for Germany as we’ve seen this kind of problem affecting many other countries, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.
Germany though has been one of those countries that has been able to look into proper solutions for the long term. One such solution of course is the use of telehealth and allowing patients to get their appointments online which cuts on the time used for transport and potentially allows for people to get rapid medical advice. There has also been an extended hand towards the pharmacology industry to discuss potential solutions to lower the burden placed on doctors. Generally, in Germany, many people are considered to have an actual relationship with their general practitioner, unlike many people in other European countries. One of the reasons for that is of course that to be able to see a specialist you first need to get a recommendation from your general practitioner.
It’s important to understand that in German this is a very standard way to do business with your doctors since your insurance situation doesn’t dictate what kind of relationship you have with your doctor or what kind of doctor you need to see. This is why many people consider this to be a real step up considering many Western countries have very utilitarian types of relationships with their doctors. One of the best examples when talking about this is of course the United States where depending on your insurance coverage you might have to completely change doctors or even clinics. This is of course not something that would happen in a country like Germany considering how important patient-centric care is.
