In the past year there were vacancies for general practitioners in many federal states.
A total of 5.9 percent of the planned places for branches could not be allocated nationwide, as can be seen from the response of the federal government to a request from Left MP Sabine Zimmermann.
The greatest bottlenecks were therefore in Saarland, where 12.3 percent of the positions remained vacant.
City-states like Hamburg (0 percent) and Berlin (0.7 percent), on the other hand, were significantly better supplied with general practitioners compared to planning.
Nationwide, a total of 3280 options for general practitioners remained free, compared with 1933 for specialists.
Also in Saxony-Anhalt (10.4 percent), Rhineland-Palatinate (9.5 percent) as well as Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (8.9 percent each), fewer general practitioners settled down than the requirement calculations for the federal states provide.
In the new federal states, 6.4 percent, more options for general practitioners remained unused than in the old states (5.8 percent), the government announced, citing data from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
Increasing tendency towards vacant positions
The number of vacant positions has tended to increase with fluctuations in recent years.
In 2014 there were 2,123 vacancies, and in 2018 there were 2,875 vacancies.
Because the planning for the need for general practitioners has been reformed, the 2019 figures can only be compared with those of previous years to a limited extent, the government said.
There is therefore no forecast for the future: "The federal government has no reliable information on the question of how the situation will develop in the next few years."
According to the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, there is a requirement plan for medical branches in order to ensure health care for the population.
The federal government makes specifications for this and the state medical associations create regional plans based on this.
This determines how many general practitioners and specialists there are in a region.
If a supply of 110 percent has been achieved in a region, a doctor must first wait for a free practice to take over before he can settle there.
"Shortage of doctors, long distances and long waiting times"
Left-wing politician Zimmermann commented critically on the federal government's figures: "A shortage of doctors, long distances and long waiting times for appointments have long been the norm for many patients."
In rural areas in particular, more needs to be done to ensure that doctors establish themselves.
The left-wing MP, who chairs the Committee on Family, Seniors, Women and Youth in the Bundestag, also called for an end to the coexistence of statutory and private health insurance.
"The existing higher remuneration system is also an incentive for doctors to settle in regions with above-average wages with many privately insured people."
Icon: The mirror
bbr / dpa
