Due to the outbreak of the highly contagious corona virus, many specialists in Germany now seem to be facing a major problem. Many patients stay away from medical practices for fear of the risk of infection with the coronavirus. For this reason, Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn has now made a dramatic request to the citizens of the “Bild” newspaper.
Because of an enormous decline in the number of patients with specialists, Health Minister Jens Spahn calls on patients in Germany to visit a doctor. With this, Spahn supports the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and the German Hospital Society, which had also already addressed the patients. “Go to the doctor! Do not be afraid to go to a practice for complaints and to a hospital in an emergency! Timely treatment can save lives, ”said Spahn. Since the corona pandemic began in Germany, the number of patients in doctors and hospitals has plummeted. Spahn suspects the patient’s fear of contracting the coronavirus. However, Spahn describes this fear as unfounded and the risk to the patient is only minimal.
Most recently, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and the German Hospital Society had commissioned surveys in which specialists in cardiovascular diseases or cancer confirmed that their patient numbers had decreased by up to 50 percent. Many dentists even estimate the drop in patients to 80 percent. “Many doctors report that the number of patients with stroke, with heart attacks, has declined sharply,” said Spahn at “Bild” -Live. Spahn is concerned about this development, as it endangers the patient’s own health. “The risk is so minimized that you can go to the doctor with peace of mind. The fear of an infection must not overlap the acute need, ”said Spahn. At the same time, the minister announced the introduction of a Corona app from mid-June.
“Our goal is that by mid-June we will have an app that is voluntary, that collects decentrally and anonymizes the contacts.” We can only hope that this app will then also be used by German citizens.
