BARMER GEK Heil- und Hilfsmittelreport 2014The BARMER GEK Heil- und Hilfsmittelreport 2014 reports the amount of prescriptions and expenditures from 2013 and 2012: Expenditures for therapeutic interventions reached 774 million Euro (+5.6 %). For medical devices 867 million Euro (+10.2 %) were spent. While rates of increasing numbers of insurants who were treated with these therapeutics were considerably lower than the increase of expenditures, the growth of treatment costs is shown. Especially the increasing costs for medical devices highlight the importance of their market, which is becoming progressively more lucrative to producers and suppliers. Unlike with current procedures in the pharmaceutical market, where drugs have to be approved before application, the vast majority of medical devices require a self-declaration by the manufacturer in order to receive the CE-marking for marketing in the European market. There are no requirements for the demonstration of a long term patient benefit – an unacceptable situation. Besides claiming for a substantial benefit and cost-benefit assessment, the report provides detailed proposals for further activities for better quality and transparency of care with medical devices in the statutory health care system.
The diagnosis related analyses assess important subjects of an older growing society with a high burden of chronic diseases, among others, considering regional aspects: Since the results show that only 40 percent of people with chronic wounds received a compression therapy and 75 percent of diabetic patients with a high risk for food complications did not receive podiatric treatment, a clear under-treatment was identified. Further analyses provide transparency of the utilization of blood glucose test strips, which was characterized by regional differences.
Download:
BARMER GEK Heil- und Hilfsmittelreport 2014, only available in German
Supplementals, only available in German
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Gerd Glaeske (verstorben)
