Emergency doctor care in Augsburg: Alarming shortages threaten help!

Emergency doctor care in Augsburg: Alarming shortages threaten help!

In recent years, emergency care has become increasingly difficult, especially in rural areas. A current study shows that many missions could be avoided due to the low deployment density of emergency doctors. The pressure on healthcare is growing as many doctors prefer to spend their weekends and nights at home rather than being deployed. As a result, the challenges in filling emergency doctor shifts are increasing. Despite a full staffing rate of 100 percent of the guards in Augsburg, the future provision of emergency care remains uncertain. The younger doctors are heavily challenged in their main jobs, which further complicates the situation. In this context, the Augsburger Allgemeine reports that many of them no longer opt for emergency care services.

The gaps in rural areas

Medical and nursing care is often challenging, particularly in rural areas. Looking at this issue shows that the population expects quality healthcare services, regardless of where they live. Compared to urban areas, rural regions suffer from a lower number of health care facilities. The widespread availability of medical providers results in long travel distances for patients, especially when specialized treatments are required. This becomes particularly problematic with regard to the increasingly older population, who often rely on regular medical care. There are fewer doctors per capita in rural regions, which further exacerbates the situation.

Also important is the high need for nursing care for older people, while the appropriate specialists are often lacking. The need for innovative care approaches is therefore high in order to close the existing gaps. As explained in the article by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, there are definitely innovative concepts such as cooperation projects between practices or telemedicine solutions that can help close the gaps in care.

New approaches to improvement

A promising initiative in this direction is the “Neighborhood Diagnostics” project, which is being promoted by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The aim of the project is to develop a digital ecosystem that relieves the burden on doctors and specialist staff. The aim is to have health stations that make long journeys unnecessary and enable rapid treatment. These stations could collect samples on site and carry out tests autonomously.

The system also provides for the connection of wearable devices to record and transmit vital data so that diagnoses can be made quickly and efficiently. This model will initially be tested in Brandenburg with the aim of expanding it to rural regions in all federal states. The presentation of these advances at MEDICA in Düsseldorf from November 13th to 16th, 2023 promises exciting insights into future healthcare.

The challenges are manifold and a creative rethink is required. Only through innovative solutions and improved cooperation between the various health sectors can it be possible to secure medical care in rural regions in the long term. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and what measures will be taken to meet the needs of the population.