Zeitschrift für Kardiologie
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In order to improve the quality of medical care, minimum volumes for services were set. Hospitals are only permitted to continue to provide these services and settle accounts with the health insurance companies if they are able to achieve these minimum annual volumes. This study is based on service data of the year 2002 from 88 neighboring hospitals of the hospital association Cologne, Bonn and region. ⋯ Depending on the minimum quantity, service concentrations are only expected for pacemaker implantations. Due to the increasing service concentration as a consequence of the DRG-payment system, a bureaucratic regulation of minimum volumes has become superfluous for most cardiological services. Instead of minimum volume regulations, recommendation of minimum volumes should be made in cardiological guidelines.