[Presence and future of emergency medicine in Germany].
Health care policy has changed duties and responsibilities of hospitals in Germany. The transition zone of in- and outpatient care has been recognized as a critical gateway for the success of hospitals, subsequently leading to the appreciation of the value of professionalized emergency departments. Currently, hospital-based emergency medicine in Germany is organized in a very heterogeneous manner. Due to the key function of emergency departments for the medical and economic success of hospitals, professional expertise in clinical emergency medicine has to be strengthened: We discuss possible models of hospital-based emergency care and present first data that professionalisation of hospital-based emergency medicine in Germany improves treatment quality and outcome of patients presenting with chest-pain or community-acquired pneumonia to the emergency department. Furthermore, those strategies are accompanied with the improvement of economic characteristics. Summing up, professionalisation of hospital-based emergency medicine in Germany is urgently needed and may improve medical and economic success of hospital-based patient care.
Christ
Michael
M
Klinik für Notfall- und Internistische Intensivmedizin, Klinikum Nürnberg. Michael.Christ@klinikum-nuernberg.de
Dodt
Christoph
C
Geldner
Götz
G
Hortmann
Marcus
M
Stadelmeyer
Uwe
U
Wulf
Hinnerk
H
D002637:Chest Pain / Q000628:therapy; D003933:Diagnosis; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005858:Germany; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011364:Professional Practice