KBV Chairman proposes faster specialist appointments for urgent cases

Andreas Gassen, Chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), is advocating for faster specialist appointments in cases of medical urgency. He proposes a system of targeted appointment mediation coupled with appropriate compensation for participating medical practices.

Gassen suggests that under these conditions, doctors could provide a limited number of short-term appointments, typically within one week, for cases classified as urgent via GP referrals or the 116117 service. He notes that truly urgent cases represent only a small portion of overall medical care, meaning targeted management could prevent capacity from being blocked by less pressing issues.

However, Gassen expressed skepticism regarding a general legal guarantee for specialist appointments, stating that such a mandate is unfeasible due to insufficient capacity. He maintains that medical necessity and physician assessment of urgency should be the deciding factors for any appointment guarantees.