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

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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.

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: [email protected]
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: CompuGroup Medical AG
Maria Trost 21
D-56070 Koblenz
phone: +49 (0) 261 8000-0
FAX: +49 (0) 261 8000-1166
mail: [email protected]
WWW: www.cgm.com
sector: Software
ISIN: DE0005437305
indexes:
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München
language: English

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