On February 16, 2022, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has published the decisions which recommended the transfer to standard care for three completed projects. The projects relate to the prevention of antibiotic resistance, improvement of healthcare in socially disadvantaged areas, and misuse of control colonoscopies in Germany.
A short overview of the projects is provided below:
- “ARena – sustainably avert the development of antibiotic resistance” project investigated how doctors can be supported in using antibiotics in a very targeted manner and not in the case of uncomplicated infections. The project introduced and tested three support concepts at the participating medical practices. One module, in particular, has the potential to strengthen the guideline-based use of antibiotics in Germany significantly: it combines quality circles, data-based feedback reports, e-learning, result-based reimbursement for doctors, publicity campaigns, and targeted patient information;
- “INVEST Billstedt/Horn – Hamburg Billstedt/Horn was aimed to research, using the example of East Hamburg, how the health of the population in socially disadvantaged parts of the city can be improved and how the use of existing resources can be optimized. Within the project, so-called health kiosks in the two Hamburg districts of Billstedt and Horn were established with multilingual, local, and particularly low-threshold care and advice offers. In addition, a multi-professional health network was set up to improve medical care processes and nursing care across interfaces;
- “KOL-OPT – Misuse of control colonoscopies in Germany: extent, determinants, and design of solution approaches” project aimed to investigate whether and to what extent there is the non-guideline-compliant provision of control colonoscopies and what causes it. The project evaluated routine data obtained from sickness funds and conducted quantitative surveys of insured persons. Indications of misuse were found, but the reasons could not be derived with certainty from the available data. The project also announced an intervention strategy to be developed based on the knowledge gained to counteract the misuse and ensure a needs-based distribution of the colonoscopies carried out in Germany.
Innovation Fund is the vital instrument to propose and test a novel model of care (including the ones in the forms of selective contracts). If the model proves valuable, it can be a subject for further dissemination in the country.
The full details in German can be found here, here (ARena project), here (INVEST Billstedt/Horn project), and here (KOL-OPT project).
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