Healthcare Forces Politicians to Make Decisions

The Action Committee needs politicians to make clear healthcare decisions. More than twenty influential healthcare administrators, scientists, and general practitioners have supported the Ten-Point Plan.

Political parties do not promise mountains of gold during the election campaigns and afterward ‘behave like skimpy guys’ while in government and parliament. Politicians must clearly state what they want to spend the money on before the elections, whether it is technology, home treatment, modern chemotherapy, according to the Action Committee’s Manifesto ‘Together Courageous for Healthcare.‘ According to the ‘brave doctors,’ who previously ran a successful campaign to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, it all involves making responsible decisions that make care accessible and manageable.

100 percent solidarity in healthcare

The action committee challenges the politicians to express their opinion on four concrete choices. The first is the choice for one hundred percent solidarity with the vulnerable residents. ‘The dogma of’ self-management ‘is no excuse for not providing sufficient care to these vulnerable people,’ the manifesto said. The doctors also want care to be a basic public provision, accessible to everyone and non-commercial. ‘As a political party, make clear what maximum health care costs can be for citizens, an average family already pays a quarter of its income in health insurance premiums. Show courage and indicate in concrete terms what can and cannot be paid for from public funds, ‘the doctors write.

Optimal care and trust

Doctors want to get rid of the current incident policy and excess checks. ‘A never-ending stream of inspections alternates with the submission of ticked lists. Stop the organized mistrust and excessive need for control of the bureaucracy. ‘

The doctors want more confidence in the professionalism of healthcare providers. They must be given the space ‘to provide the most favorable care for that one unique patient’. Now, according to doctors, current production-oriented financing gives the wrong incentives to healthcare providers. ‘The endless checklists and a never-ending stream of inspections characterize political distrust and lead to defensive medicine and over-the-top protocols.

Overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and nonsensical care are harmful consequences for the patient. Remove these stimuli from the system and let the healthcare provider do what he can do best, practice his profession, and provide proper medication to patients regardless if they are just complaining of gut illness.

Invest in professionalism and training, instead of more control and patronizing. ‘

Radical smoking prevention

The radical approach to smoking advocated by the action committee is striking. and doctors believe that this is the best preventive measure that contributes to the health of the citizens. They point out that every year 20,000 people in other countries die from the consequences of smoking, because politicians do not dare to take drastic measures. “Is your party willing to raise cigarette prices, drastically reduce the number of outlets and ban smoking from the public domain?”