Hospitalization of people in need of care avoidable

According to the health insurance company Barmer, many hospital stays for people in need of care could be avoided if there was better on-site care. This is the conclusion of the Barmer Nursing Report, which the health insurance company presented on Thursday.

Around 800,000 people are treated in hospitals in Saxony every year, said Barmer state director Monika Welfens. In 2022, around a quarter of these, namely 192,420 people, were in need of care. For a number of diagnoses - such as urinary tract infections, dehydration or diabetes - hospital stays would not be necessary if the nursing patients were better cared for on an outpatient or inpatient basis beforehand.

Barmer advocates the creation of health centers as quickly as possible, especially in rural areas, in which doctors and nursing services work together "across sectors". "The gears need to mesh better," said Welfens. The federal and state governments would have to create the legal framework for the health centers.

The health insurance company publishes the care report annually and examines one key topic at a time. Barmer is the second largest health insurance company in Saxony after AOK. It has around 320,000 policyholders in the state.