Almost at the same time the Bertelsmann Foundation(05.11.2019) and JAMA(Journal of American Medical Association)Internal Medicine (published online september 9,2019) published data on overuse of the medical system including laboratory testing, radiological testing, medical (over)treatment ( antibiotics in urgent care clinics) and surgical (e.g. thyreoidectomy)interventions.
Both publications came m0re or less to the same conclusions „the findings suggest that many tests are overused,overtreatment is common,and unnecessary care can lead to patient harm“.
Therefore politicians should start a broad information campaign for all workers and employers who pay for health insurance and who sustain the health system.After that they should start to control the system more closely and to reduce expences. May be privatisation of the health care system and adoption of the „american“ DRG-system was not as successful as it was suggested it would be when both were introduced into the european systems more than 15 years ago.In fact now both sides of the atlantic independently from eachother come to the same conclusions:at least one third of the expenses can be avoided and even a better quality of the health care system with less patient harm could be the consequence.
Grote-Westrick,Marion,Münch Inga,Volbracht Eckhardt.Überversorgung schadet den Patienten.BertelsamnnStiftung05.11.2019
Morgan DJ,Dhruva SS, Coon ER,Wright SM, Korenstein D.:2019Update on medical overuse.A Review.JAMAInternal Medicinepublished onlin september 9;E1-7