EANS-News: CompuGroup Medical AG / Contracts for Primary Physicians - Good Feedback, but Far from Perfect

Representative survey: Many German physicians have accepted the
contracts for primary physicians, but tangible improvements are
missing.

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Subtitle: Representative survey: Many German physicians have accepted
the contracts for primary physicians, but tangible improvements are
missing.

Koblenz (euro adhoc) - The primary physician´s position remains a
popular topic in German healthcare policy. The contracts for primary
physicians, which are expected to improve healthcare and reduce the
bureaucratic barriers, are a particularly hot topic. That´s
apparently what many primary physicians are hoping, because over half
of all surveyed physicians (58%) have already enrolled in an HZV
contract (primary physician-centered contract). Fifty-five % of the
participating primary physicians are happy about positive changes -
that´s a success. However, 59 % of the primary physicians surveyed
are of the opinion that the primary physician-centered healthcare
needs to be strengthened and they are opposed to the Federal
Government´s planned fee limitations in the new contracts. More than
one third of the surveyed physicians (36.6%) are even actively
participating in protests against these austerity measures. That was
the result of the monthly CGM health monitor, a representative survey
of 440 randomly selected primary physicians, conducted by CompuGroup
Medical, the Rhein-Zeitung and the Medical Tribune.

Dream job with disadvantages - primary physicians demand support

Most private practice primary physicians have a special work ethic -
they are there for their patients past "normal" working hours and are
even available at night and on weekends. This personal effort is
surely appreciated at the human level, but the monetary reward
offered by the state is insufficient. The Hausärzteverband
(Association of Primary Physicians) criticizes that general
practitioners in particular are still languishing at the lower third
of medical pay and are at a disadvantage in light of the high
workload. This situation is supposed to be mitigated through
contracts that the physicians will execute directly with the health
insurance companies. As the surveys demonstrated, the majority of
primary physicians consider the contracts to be promising. Almost 6
out of every 10 physicians (58%) have enrolled and 42 % of physicians
are adopting a restrained reaction so far.

The improvements can still be upgraded

The question whether physicians enrolled in an HZV contract are
satisfied is probably best answered with yes and no. After all,
improved healthcare was reported by 15.4% of those surveyed, 14.8%
would like more contracts with more health insurance companies, and
17.7% even report that they are satisfied with the fees. However, 45%
of participants did state that overall, not enough positive changes
were made. There are probably many different reasons for this
dissatisfaction and it is most likely also influenced by the various
types of contracts that are currently offered. For example,
physicians enrolled in rectification contracts pursuant to section
73b SGB V (German Social Code Book 5) are currently unhappy with the
efforts required for the conversion. And with regard to the add-on
contracts, the German Association of Primary Physicians has doubts
that they will actually improve healthcare. It is also possible
that tedious bureaucracy plays a role in this: only 7.1% report that
the HZV contracts have reduced this burden.

Skeptics want to be convinced

The relatively high percentage of dissatisfied colleagues bolsters
critics of the contracts in their opinion that they made the right
decision by not enrolling. Two thirds of the 185 people surveyed
(67.5%) that are not enrolled in any primary physician contract
decline it with the justification that they just aren´t convinced by
the contract offered. The physicians that are not enrolled (13.5%)
feel that they are better off in the health insurance system and they
don´t want to give up that security. And 5.4% state that the HZV
contracts available so far don´t apply to enough of their patients
and they were not participating for that reason. An additional 8.1%
might participate but they stress that no contracts are offered in
their region.

Primary physicians are criticizing the Federal Government´s austerity
measures

Despite partial skepticism, the surveyed primary physicians want to
see the HZV contracts strengthened. Well over half (58.6%) feel that
it is inappropriate for the Federal Government to limit pay rates in
the new contracts. Of the 440 physicians surveyed, 28.8% "don´t
care", but that may be due to the fact that the planned limits at
the basic care level do not affect the current contracts. Only 8% of
the primary physicians surveyed show some insight into the austerity
measures and feel that they are unavoidable in the current situation.

Many physicians are even taking to the streets

Many primary physicians are so outraged about the austerity policy
planned by the Federal Health Minister, Dr. Philipp Rösler, that they
are actively supporting protests against it. More than one third of
the surveyed physicians (36.6%) personally participates and may even
take to the streets with a placard. At least as many colleagues
(36.8%) find the protests justified, even if their own medical
practice is not directly affected. Only 20.5% do not want to be
involved in the discussion and do not endorse the protests. If you
add up all those numbers, it is obvious that with their protest
against the Federal Government´s HZV plans, the German Association of
Primary Physicians is acting in agreement with the mindset of right
around three quarters of all primary physicians. The association
perceives the entire German healthcare provided by primary physicians
to be so endangered by the austerity measures that they have
cancelled the opening ceremony for the Association´s 50th
anniversary. The reason: there is no cause for celebration with the
current HZV situation.

About CompuGroup Medical AG CompuGroup Medical is one of the leading
e-health companies worldwide. Its software products, designed to
support all medical and organizational activities in doctors´ offices
and hospitals, its information services for all parties involved in
the healthcare system and its web-based personal health records
contribute towards safer and more efficient healthcare. The services
of CompuGroup Medical are based on its unique customer base of around
370,000 doctors, dentists, hospitals and networks as well as other
service providers. CompuGroup Medical is the e-Health company with
one of the biggest coverage among e-health service providers
worldwide. The company operates in 14 European countries as well as
in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and in the USA and currently
employs around 3,000 people.

The CGM GesundheitsMONITOR: The CGM GesundheitsMONITOR is a joint
initiative of CompuGroup Medical, the Medical Tribune and the
Rhein-Zeitung. They perform representative monthly surveys of 440
general practitioners with regard to current issues in the healthcare
system. You can download free printable graphs and find publications
as well as information about the representative survey at www.cgm-
gesundheitsmonitor.de.

About Medical Tribune: For over 40 years, the Medical Tribune has
been one of the most widely read publications for private practice
physicians. The popular weekly newspaper offers an attractive mix of
medicine, health and professional policies relevant to private
practice, and economic issues that apply to the medical profession.
In a unique style, the Medical Tribune provides multi-faceted
continued education, personal advice, and interesting reading
material within a newspaper. The Medical Tribune´s success story has
been documented by the independent readership review (LA-MED) for
decades.

About Rhein-Zeitung: The Rhein-Zeitung area of circulation connects
the metropolitan areas Köln-Bonn and the Rhein-Main region. The
economically strong region around Koblenz is located in the center.
With a circulation of right of 224,000 copies and 17 local issues,
the Rhein-Zeitung has approximately 640,000 readers.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: CompuGroup Medical AG
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Further inquiry note:

CompuGroup Medical AG

Barbara Zörner

Consultant Press & Media

P +49 (0) 261 8000-1293

F +49 (0) 261 8000-3284

E-Mail: press@cgm.com

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