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Ultrasound examination (symbolic image)

Photo: Angelika Warmuth/dpa

Could an ultrasound scan of the ovaries perhaps detect a tumor that would otherwise remain hidden? Would measuring intraocular pressure detect glaucoma? And wouldn't the tiny chance of such early detection be worth the 20 euros that you would have to pay out of your own pocket? When faced with these questions, many patients decide to undergo the respective examination – and the deductible. The lucrative business for doctors is called individual health services, or hedgehog for short.

Stefan Schwartze, the federal government's patient representative, would now like to regulate these self-pay services. “Services that are described as harmful by medical societies have no place in doctors’ offices and should be banned, even in the context of hedgehogs,” Schwartze told the editorial network Germany (Thursday’s edition).

Specifically, he mentioned the ultrasound examination for the early detection of cancer in the ovaries and uterus. This examination is one of the best-selling services. But it's a shame because there are often false-positive results, resulting in unnecessary further examinations and interventions, explained the SPD politician. “Here, young women are unnecessarily frightened and frightened. This examination is therefore also rejected by the gynecological societies.«

According to Schwartze, the traffic light government also wants to make it easier for victims of medical errors to get justice in the future. Discussions with Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) about reforming the Patient Rights Act are on the right track. “Those affected usually fail to prove that the damage was caused solely by a treatment error,” says Schwartze. This full proof is complicated to provide. "That's why I'm committed to ensuring that the overwhelming probability is sufficient in the future." This is also the case in Austria and Switzerland, for example.

Schwartze also called on the medical profession and social insurance companies to take the problems of those suffering from Long Covid seriously. »The number of those affected is now very, very high. Because there is also a lack of knowledge in the medical profession, they are quickly placed in the corner of mental illness, where they definitely do not belong. They are also sometimes not recognized in health and pension insurance and are treated like malingerers. "We hear about many fates in which the economic existence of entire families collapses."

vet/dpa