Quality Care

Better Healthcare

When compared to its international peers, the German healthcare system does not receive top marks for quality. Its overall costs are high, despite offering only average treatment outcomes. Moreover, some patients receive an "overdose" of care while others do not receive the therapy they need, and even others receive improper treatment. These imbalances and mistakes are the result of faulty incentives and insufficient coordination among providers. Since the members of Germany's public health insurance funds are required to pay considerable premiums, they are also entitled to the best possible care when treatment is required. Unfortunately, the German healthcare system is often inadequate and provides substandard care in a number of areas.

Especially when it comes to chronic conditions, treatment options are often lacking. One healthcare process is rarely tailored to interact with the next, and care guidelines are often ignored. In the area of diagnostics, patients are often subjected to "treatment overkill," while relatively few resources are dedicated to health promotion and illness prevention.

The Bertelsmann Stiftung is committed to improving the quality of care. Its projects in the area of quality management develop and document methods and standards that give rise to higher-quality treatment. In addition, we are interested in increasing the use of evidence-based procedures. In the realm of integrated care, moreover, our projects are designed to help tackle the problems of insufficient coordination and collaboration that continue to hobble the country's divergent, multi-sector healthcare system.