Der Anaesthesist
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The energy of the legislator in the healthcare system was barely stoppable in 2015. Many new laws have been brought into force and legal initiatives have also been implemented. The Hospital Structure Act, the Treatment Enhancement Act, amendments of the official medical fee schedules for physicians, the Prevention Act, the E-Health Act, the Anti-corruption Act, the hospital admission guidelines and amendments of the model specialty training regulations are just some of the essential alterations that lie ahead of the medical community. This article gives a review of the most important new legislative regulations in the healthcare system and presents the fundamental consequences for the practice.
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In the hospital, human resource planning has to consider the needs and preferences of personnel and planners as well as the financial interest of the hospital. Additionally, staff planning has become more complex due to a growing number of part-time doctors as well as a variety of working shifts. ⋯ This study analyzed structures established in human resource planning in the anesthesiology departments for the first time. Time for planning varies significantly in comparable departments indicating suboptimal processes. Throughout Germany, the requirements for human resources planning are similar; for example, the software should integrate all aspects of HR planning. Different approaches are under evaluation but so far no software solution has prevailed. The used solutions vary substantially and therefore a comparison is difficult. There is no software solution with wide adoption.
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Existential questions concerning the limitation of treatment must be answered when a major complication occurs after an elective operation. In these situations, the patient himself/herself cannot be asked about his/her will. Therefore, medical professionals must attempt to determine the patient's presumed will either through an existing advance directive (AD) or by consulting with the patient's relatives. Only one-fifth of all patients create an AD in advance, and the relatives cannot always reliably reproduce the patient's presumed will. Thus, it is important to talk about issues such as do-not-resuscitate before a patient undergoes elective major surgery. However, such discussions may unsettle and frighten the patient. This study aimed to determine if patients are willing to talk about difficult questions such as resuscitation before major surgery. How many patients create an AD? Who should decide when patients themselves are no longer capable? ⋯ Although the majority of the respondents were willing to talk about difficult issues before an operation, it remains unclear to what extent these results can be generalized. However, the results justify efforts to carefully inquire about and document the will of sick patients prior to major surgery. Both the treatment team and the relatives are relieved if the patient's will is known when difficult decisions have to be made.