Critical care in Germany

Dialog Health's program of study visits allowed the French delegates to gain a global understanding of the German critical care organization and to discover best practices.

Marc Schreiner, President of the Berlin Hospital Association, presented the gradation of care system put in place by the hospitals in the capital.

Coordinated by the University Hospital La Charité, berliner hospitals have set up patient pathways aiming to distribute the diseased among them and avoid overflowing the system.

The experts from the Robert Koch Institute presented the national register of armed beds able to care for patients requiring critical care in Germany, a census set up in 15 days in March 2020 with the scientific society DIVI, to allow the Länder and the hospitals to have the necessary tools to face the pandemic.

Within the framework of the SAVE Berlin program, the Charité experts have played a pivotal role by using telehealth. The delegates attended a remote consultation between a specialist doctor from the University Hospital and an intensivist from a peripheral hospital (assisted by a robot). They were also able to exchange with the head of the resuscitation service of one of the Red Cross hospitals in Berlin, who shared the importance played by this network of exchange of practice and support during the long months of the pandemic.

In three days, the French experts were able to obtain an understanding of the organization of critical care in Germany and its adjustment to the context of high tension during the pandemic. Between pragmatism and responsiveness, the delegation left Berlin with excellent avenues for improvement for the French healthcare system.