Experiences with Innovation Fund healthcare models in primary care: a  qualitative study amongst German general practitioners

SummaryThe Innovation Fund was set up in 2015 with the aim of improving medical care in the German statutory health insurance system. Primary care needs to be involved in testing interventions and new forms of care for effectiveness and inclusion in standard care. There has so far been hardly any research on how far Innovation Fund models accommodate the primary care setting, or on the experience general practitioners have had with these models. Between September 2021 and January 2022, 36  semi-standardized individual interviews were performed with general practitioners who had already participated in Innovation Fund projects. Eleven regional physician networks in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein were involved in the recruitment process. Mo st of the interviewees associated the Innovation Fund with potential and opportunity including intensification of application-oriented healthcare research, independent financing, and general healthcare involvement. Even so, many general practitioners were unsure as to how far primary care in particu lar would stand to benefit from the Innovation Fund in the long term. A mostly positive balance was drawn from participation in care models—benefit of intervention as well as cost–benefit ratio. However, some also reported hurdles and stress factors such as documentation requirements and disrup tion in everyday office routine. Innovation Fund projects will need to be suitable for general practiti...
Source: Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research