On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, this year's BARMER Care Report was presented in Berlin. This year's area of focus was the situation of people in need of care in hospital. The SOCIUM authors, health economists Professor Heinz Rothgang and Dr. Rolf Müller, scientifically analyzed care statistics and routine data from BARMER for the report. They have provided in-depth analyses of case numbers, incidences, prevalence, and care processes.
People in Need of Care Make Up Around a Quarter of Patients in Hospitals
The authors of the study found that as people get older, not only do they become more likely to need long-term care, but they are also more likely to be hospitalized, and it is often only when they are admitted to hospital that they are diagnosed as needing long-term care. Between 2017 and 2022, a relatively constant number of between 260,000 and 276,000 people per year became in need of long-term care in the month of a hospital admission. In contrast, the number of hospital cases of people already in need of care has risen significantly – from 2.71 million in 2017 to 3.45 million in 2022. Overall, the proportion of patients in need of care among all hospitalized patients has risen from 17.4 percent to 25.3 percent.
Over One Million Potentially Avoidable Hospital Cases Every Year Due to People in Need of Care
According to the Bremen researchers, over one million hospitalizations of people in need of care could potentially be avoided. These include, for example, hospital admissions for diabetes mellitus, type 2, volume deficiency, heart failure, other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and diseases of the urinary system. In addition to nursing and medical care, the cooperation of the person in need of care and individual health behavior could also play a role here.
Suddenly in Need of Care – What Happens After Hospital?
If a need for care is identified in hospital, this is often associated with relatively sudden, serious illnesses such as cancer or a stroke. The care levels are then usually higher than in other situations in which a need for care is established. In these cases, the hospital stay is followed by the question of further care, for which the home environment is often not equipped. More than half (53.5 percent) of the people who are diagnosed as being in need of care during their hospital stay are exclusively cared for informally after being discharged from hospital, in other words without the services of outpatient care or care in care facilities. 39.8 percent receive long-term care benefits and 6.4 percent receive long-term inpatient care. Furthermore, every seventh person (14.2 percent) subsequently receives short-term care. Of these people, half receive full inpatient care one month later. The function of short-term care here is to bridge the gap until adequate care is organized.
Changes for Those Already in Need of Care
People in need of care often have their care level increased after hospitalization. As a result, relatives may also be faced with the issue of changing care needs. In the month of hospital discharge, 5.6 percent of those in need of care who had previously received informal care make use of a care service and 2.7 percent move into a care home. Of those in need of care who were previously cared for by nursing services, as many as 8.1 percent move to a nursing home in the month of discharge. Of the previous users of care services, 15.7 percent also use short-term care immediately after discharge, which is also very often used by those in need of care as a bridge to permanent inpatient care.
Hospital Stays Are Significantly Longer for People in Need of Care
The search for suitable care can delay discharge from hospital. It is in the interests of hospitals, health insurance companies, and those in need of care to keep hospital stays as short as possible. The authors of the care report state that although hospital discharge management should help with the transition, it often fails because there are too few places in the care facilities. Discharge management also often starts too late and is too uncoordinated.
Further Information:
https://www.socium.uni-bremen.de/uploads/News/2023/BARMER/20231205_BARMER_Pflegereport_2023_neu.pdf
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Heinz Rothgang
SOCIUM – Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy
Phone: +49 421 218-58557
Email: rothgangprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
Dr. rer. pol. Rolf Müller
SOCIUM – Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy
Phone: +49 421 218-58554
Email: rmintprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
