Hospitals 'profit from unnecessary operations'
2 Dec, 2012
Updated Sun 2 Dec 2012 12:52 CEST
German hospitals are increasingly performing non-vital operations for financial gain, according to a damning report by the largest German statutory health insurer due to be released this Friday.
“Our new report reveals that many operations are just performed so that hospitals make money,” Uwe Deh, chairman of the AOK group executive board told the Der Spiegel magazine in comments due to be published on Monday.
The number of operations performed in German hospital rose significantly over the past year, the magazine said, an increase that can only partially be explained by demographic changes and medical improvements.
AOK said it had particularly recorded a rise in the most expensive operations, such as those on the spine, which have increased by 130 percent since 2005 among patients insured by AOK.
“Patients in Germany can no longer be sure that they are being treated for medical reasons alone,” said Deh.
DAPD/The Local/jlb
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“Our new report reveals that many operations are just performed so that hospitals make money,” Uwe Deh, chairman of the AOK group executive board told the Der Spiegel magazine in comments due to be published on Monday.
The number of operations performed in German hospital rose significantly over the past year, the magazine said, an increase that can only partially be explained by demographic changes and medical improvements.
AOK said it had particularly recorded a rise in the most expensive operations, such as those on the spine, which have increased by 130 percent since 2005 among patients insured by AOK.
“Patients in Germany can no longer be sure that they are being treated for medical reasons alone,” said Deh.
DAPD/The Local/jlb
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