one of the most prestigious psychiatry, researchers from Germany, one of the most important psychiatric studies of the past decades, manipulated, or to manipulate? This suspicion of a Commission of inquiry of the TU Dresden in mid-February. Last Monday, the members of the Commission have decided to open the formal investigation procedure, since it previously had not been possible, “the allegations address”.
this is a study with the sober title of staff in psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, carried out by a daughter company of the TU Dresden under the direction of Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. Wittchen for many years headed the Institute for Clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the TU Dresden. His study should clarify the current staffing situation in the German psychiatry looks like. It was also collected in Detail, what Doctors, psychotherapists, and nurses in everyday life do and how long you need for each one (TIME no 12/19).
raised The allegations, which are now being tested, were employees of the TU Dresden. According to Reports by Buzzfeed News and the spectrum of the science, it’s supposed to go to the suspicion, that in the case of data gaps, and the details have already been recorded, hospitals were simply reproduced, and so the impression has been created that there will be more clinics had been taken into account, as it was indeed the case.
In order the study by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) had passed. This Central body of the German health care system wants to prepare on its basis a new policy how many Doctors, therapists and nurses to work in psychiatry. The current staff regulation is hopelessly out of date, it dates back to the year 1991. And for many new forms of therapy to make the treatment more effective and dealing with the sick human, is one thing needed: more personnel. It is one of the most important decisions in the field of psychiatry for decades.
This article dates back to the TIME no 15/2019. Here you can read the entire issue.
The G-BA has not taken the study so far, due to “open technical questions and the allegations of manipulation”. On demand of the TIME, the Committee announced the conclusion of the investigation proceedings had to be seen “mandatory”. The can take: Within half a year, the process should be terminated, it can take quite longer.
the new personnel policy at risk. Because of the G to submit to-BA by the end of September, the Bundestag wants it. The G-BA does not comply with the deadline, could deteriorate the situation in the field of psychiatry rather than to improve it: psychiatrists fear that the therapy of the mentally ill people case-by-case flat rate is charged, similar to appendicitis operations. And this flat-rate system contains no sub-limits for staff.
Some statisticians do not believe the process to be “legitimate,” it is the result of distorting
Whether or not any manipulations have distorted the result of the study, is still unclear. Hans-Ulrich Wittchen has passed to the G-BA, in the meantime, to address the allegations of a paper of the TIME. It also includes a statistician who were not involved in the study comment: dealing with missing data is equivalent to the “common practice” in the statistics and not to distort the results. The applied statistical method was “legitimate” and “no Manipulation”.
Now, the TU Dresden and the G-BA must clarify the allegations urgently. Firstly, there is the suspicion of scientific misconduct, which weighs heavily enough. But it is also a far-reaching decision for many patients: and More than 1.2 million people are treated annually in German hospitals because they are mentally ill. These patients need an adequate number of Physicians, therapists and nurses.
‘d postponed the decision about it, it could lead to under-supply. The same would be fatal, however, it would be on time, but at the green table without the data from the clinical routine. The should show how the situation in the field of psychiatry actually is.
