Fachkliniken – Definition: Vorschlag zur Diskussion aus der Ad-hoc-Kommission Versorgungsstrukturen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF) zur Reform der Krankenhausversorgung

Specialist clinics play an important role in inpatient care in the German healthcare system. They are characterized by a high degree of specialization and expertise and are described in numerous medical disciplines. However, a generally accepted legal definition of specialist clinics has so far been lacking. The ad hoc committee of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) for the reform of hospital care in Germany, therefore, presents proposals for a definition, a description of quality characteristics, and an allocation to care levels. In the opinion of the committee, three aspects are necessary for the definition of specialist clinics: a high total number of patients treated, a high proportion of the disease entities attributable to the specialist area according to diagnosis and services, and structural characteristics. The definition proposed here is intended to help the political decision-makers in the federal and state governments to standardize according to medical-scientific criteria.