The planned reform of the fee schedule for physicians (GOÄ) threatens to massively undermine the resilience and security of laboratory medicine in Germany. Compensation cuts of up to 25 percent in the inpatient and over 33 percent in the outpatient sector could reduce investments in domestic production and further increase dependence on foreign suppliers for equipment and reagents. DGKL CEO Jan Wolter warned against this in the new episode of the podcast “Diagnose Deutschland”.

In the program, produced by LabNews Media LLC, Wolter discussed the geopolitical risks of the reform with investigative journalist Vlad Georgescu. Laboratory medicine is critical infrastructure, the weakening of which could make Germany susceptible to blackmail in crises. “We risk that Germany will be blackmailed in medical care,” Wolter stressed. Too much dependence on manufacturers from third countries – such as China or the USA – carries the risk that the supply of laboratory services could be de facto switched off in political crises.

The cuts in the GOÄ, which affects privately insured persons, would make laboratory medicine unattractive in the long term, hinder research and innovation and lead to a reduction in domestic production capacities. Instead of fair competition, there is a threat of a creeping shift abroad, which endangers the security of supply and the resilience of the entire health system. Wolter called for the GOÄ to also be used as an instrument to secure critical infrastructures and a “total reset” of health financing.

With only around 1200 specialists in laboratory medicine compared to about 437,000 doctors in total, the subject has too weak a voice in the negotiations between the German Medical Association, private health insurers and the Federal Ministry of Health. The artificial separation between “talking medicine” and technical subjects contributes to the undervaluation.

The US podcast “Diagnose Deutschland” sees itself as politically disruptive and evidence-based. The current episode entitled “Die GOÄ” is available on platforms such as RTL+.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.