"Theory meets practice" - study programme excursion to Berlin

Programme items were:

• Bundestag: visit to Nina Winter, active participation of a member of parliament
• Federal Ministry of Health (BMG): Visit to Michael Weller
• Patient representation in the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA)
• German Medical Association (BÄK)
• National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV)
• Charité Museum of Medical History

Culinary prelude

The field trip kicked off with a joint dinner at the Polit-Kult restaurant. The "Ständige Vertretung" provided the right atmosphere for the upcoming programme items of the field trip, as this is where politics, business and culture meet and exchange ideas. Coupled with good food and lively discussions, the foundations were laid for an exciting field trip.

Guided Tours of the Bundestag

On the first day, we went to the Bundestag to take a look behind the political scenes with Nina Winter, a former student at Fulda University of Applied Sciences and current employee of an FDP MP. "Mrs Winter impressed us in two ways. On the one hand, she managed to show us around the impressive buildings of the German Bundestag, in particular the committee meeting rooms in the Paul Löbe House and the FDP parliamentary chamber in the Reichstag building, which are otherwise almost inaccessible. On the other hand, she shared with us her concentrated professional and political expertise from many years of professional experience in nursing practice and as an active participation of an FDP member of parliament. " - Carl.

A visit to the Federal Ministry of Health

We then visited Michael Weller, head of division for health care and health insurance at the Federal Ministry of Health, who was previously head of policy at the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds. Thanks to his many years of expertise, he admitted us to internal discussions and reported on how political processes expire behind the scenes.
"The visit with Mr Weller was an exciting experience. It was exciting because we were able to experience the current developments surrounding the planned hospital reform from a perspective that is not normally accessible.
The visit once again underlined the relevance of the two specialisations of the study programme - economics and politics - for a holistic view of the health system. My impression was that we were able to follow the content of the presentation by an expert very well and realised how much we had already learned in the individual semesters." - Konrad.

Insights into patient participation

The programme then continued at the Federal Joint Committee (https://www.g-ba.de/) in terms of health policy. As "the" highest committee, important regulations for health care are made here. Sophie Schertell, officer at the Patient Participation Unit (https://patientenvertretung.g-ba.de/), made it clear right at the beginning of her presentation: "Patient engagement is the block buster drug of the 21st century!" However, the reality in the G-BA is still different; the patient representatives accredited in the G-BA still have no voting rights and can only take part in consultations. In addition, the structural conditions for profitable patient participation in terms of human, financial and time resources for patient organisations are not in place.
"In the shark tank that is the health system, where there are many power-conscious players and vested interests, it is easy to forget who it should actually be about: Patients. According to the central message of the interesting presentation, the Patient Participation Unit at the Federal Joint Committee is doing indispensable work to change this situation in the long term." - Prof Dr Benjamin Ewert

Digitisation strategy of the German Medical Association

During our visit to the German Medical Association (https://www.bundesaerztekammer.de/), we were able to discuss the current status of digitisation with experts, as well as the opportunities and challenges of the digitisation process, particularly from the perspective of the medical profession. The event concluded with a delicious buffet where we were able to exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.
"The insight from the perspective of those related to practice was extremely instructive and a great addition to the content of our university studies, especially for our current course project in semester 5 on the topic of digitisation, as it opened up further facets for us to consider. A successful visit" - Merle

Expert debate at the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians

After the BÄK, we went to the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. Anke Schliwen, Head of the Ensuring Division at the KBV, gave us a comprehensive presentation on the demand planning of doctors in Germany, on methodological distribution problems, but also on the meaningfulness and outstanding conceptualisation of this system. "Following on from the teaching content, we entered into lively discussions and expanded our knowledge thanks to the speaker's outstanding expertise. She systematically built on our knowledge, addressed all our questions and discussed the challenges, which gave us a different perspective from the federal level" - Eileen

The last day ended with a visit to the Charité Medical History Museum. Guided Tours gave us exciting insights into the historical development of medicine, the health care of that time, the methods used and the political influence on the Charité. It showed us in the context of our study programme: no matter what time we were in historically, a well-functioning healthcare system is always needed. It must be able to keep the population as healthy as possible and also prove its worth in crises.
"The visit showed me how important it is that there are people who are able to shape and develop healthcare systems so that we can continue to safeguard everyone's health in the future. This confirms this study programme all the more." - Leonie

Lasting impressions

"It was precisely this transfer of theoretical knowledge from the course into practice that made the field trip so special. It confirmed and deepened the course content in many ways. Coming into contact with the very actors and experts we deal with in the lectures was very exciting and opened up new perspectives for us. The field trip also showed us how useful and purposeful this study programme is for our professional development and what diverse opportunities are available to us." - Eileen

"From my point of view, the field trip was a complete success. We had a good mix of presentations, discussions and debates in the program. I was particularly pleased that we were able to be seen with our students. The dialogue partners were very impressed by the knowledgeable questions and contributions to the discussion. Of course, we will strive to make a similar offer for the subsequent years of the Health Economics and Health Policy study programme in the coming years." - Prof. Dr. Stefan Greß - Head of the study programme