G-BA projects
Since 2016, the Innovation Committee of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has been funding projects that aim to test innovative approaches for statutory health insurance and gain new insights into everyday healthcare.
G-BA "Neue Versorgungsformen"
"Neue Versorgungsformen" within the meaning of the Innovation Fund are forms of care that go beyond the current standard care provided by statutory health insurance. Funding is provided for models that further develop cross-sectoral care and contain approaches to overcome the separation of sectors, as well as those that optimize intra-sectoral interfaces.
The following G-BA projects on "Neue Versorgungsformen" are currently being funded at the Faculty of Medicine:
- WELCOME
- Digital, video-supported transition to post-inpatient care for premature and full-term babies with increased nursing aftercare needs
- Speaker
- Prof. Dr. Uli Fischer
- Institution
- Department of nursing services
- Funding
- 2023 to 2026
- Website
- Project description on the G-BA website
- Topics
- In Germany, around one in ten babies is born prematurely. More than 15 percent of these premature babies are cared for in specialized clinics, usually in intensive care units. When these premature babies are allowed to leave hospital, many of them still require special care: Their parents have to monitor certain vital signs and take professional care of feeding tubes, catheters or even wounds. The risk of complications is high and families' everyday lives are often characterized by fear and uncertainty. Existing support structures such as socio-medical aftercare or midwife assistance are often inadequate, meaning that those affected often only have the option of returning to hospital.
The partners in the WELCOME project want to improve aftercare for premature babies during the transition to their own home and support families from the specialist clinic. At the heart of the new form of care is an app. Parents can use it to contact the highly specialized hospital staff they are already familiar with in video consultations and via chat. Health parameters can also be documented and exchanged via the app. In addition, parents can use the app's knowledge and exchange portal to find out about the right care for newborns and local support services or network with other affected people.
The project participants are investigating whether the digital service is suitable for reducing the frequency of complications and hospital readmissions in a study involving around 230 premature babies. The study will also examine whether the parents concerned feel confident in their home environment and build up more self-confidence. The project team is also monitoring how well the new service is implemented in everyday care and what effect it has on care costs. The project is being funded for four years with a total of around 5.8 million euros.
If successful, the aftercare service for premature babies can be expanded to include telemedical support for families. This would be a gain, not least in structurally weak regions.
Source: G-BA
- OptiNIV
- Optimization of post-hospital intensive care for neurological patients
- Project leader
- Prof. Dr. Andreas Bender
- Institution
- Department of Neurology
- Funding
- since 2021
- Website
- Project description on the G-BA website
- Topics
- Currently, around 30,000 people in Germany are dependent on mechanical ventilation or permanent access to the trachea (tracheal cannula, TC) even after inpatient intensive care treatment. The care of these patients is provided by outpatient intensive care (AIP) and is associated with high costs. However, neurological patients in particular, e.g. after a stroke, could have great potential to recover in the long term and be successfully weaned off ventilation/TC. However, this recovery potential is currently only being exploited to a limited extent because there is a lack of coordinating rehabilitative structures and processes in the outpatient sector. OptiNIV aims to remedy this situation.
The project develops and evaluates new diagnostic and treatment pathways at the interface between inpatient, neurorehabilitative and AIP care. Outpatient teams of experts regularly care for and treat patients at home. Study centers in specialist neurological early rehabilitation clinics coordinate the treatment measures and take over case management. An interdisciplinary assessment identifies the patient's individual weaning potential. Weaning from mechanical ventilation/TC then takes place during inpatient neurological interval rehabilitation, if necessary.
The one-year study with 173 neurological AIP patients is intended to determine the success of their weaning from mechanical ventilation/AC. To this end, the study group (115 patients with OptiNIV) will be compared with a control group (58 patients with standard care). The researchers will also analyze the costs of the new treatment pathway compared to standard treatment. The project is being funded for four years with around 5.3 million euros.
If the project is successful, fewer patients will need to be ventilated or fitted with a tracheostomy tube and cared for in the AIP. This will improve the quality of life and social participation of those affected.
Quelle: GBA
- FLS‐CARE
- Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) for the implementation of an integrated care structure to prevent osteoporosis-related secondary fractures
- Project leader
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böcker, Prof. Dr. Christian Kammerlander
- Institution
- Department of General, Visceral und Transplantation Surgery
- Funding
- 2020 to 2024
- Website
- Project description of the GBA
- Topics
- In 2010, there were 725,000 osteoporosis-related bone fractures in Germany. The treatment and follow-up costs amounted to around nine billion euros. More than half of the patients suffered a subsequent fracture after the first fracture, resulting in hospital stays and operations. Studies on hip fractures show that between 30 and 80 percent of subsequent fractures could be avoided in the two to four years following the first fracture through targeted osteoporosis therapy and effective preventive measures.
In the FLS-CARE project, a network of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists ensures that measures initiated in hospital to prevent fractures are continued in outpatient care. The transfer of patients to outpatient care is coordinated by a nurse. This nurse accompanies and advises the patient, trains them in the prevention of falls and liaises closely with the attending doctors. The nurse is supported by an IT platform. Around 800 men aged 60 and over and women aged 50 and over with osteoporosis-related hip fractures are to be included in the study in 24 clinics. Patients will take part in the new form of treatment in twelve clinics. In the twelve other clinics, they will receive standard care. Both patient groups will be compared to see how often a further fracture has occurred two years after the hip fracture. The project is being funded for 59 months with a total of around 3.2 million euros.
If successful, FLS-CARE can reduce the frequency of subsequent fractures and falls and lower treatment costs. At the same time, the number of patients who receive osteoporosis treatment and adhere to it should be increased. As a result, this can lead to a lower mortality rate and a higher quality of life for osteoporosis patients.
Source: GBA
G-BA Versorgungsforschung
Health services research has the task of creating a scientific basis for solutions for the design, organization and financing of the healthcare system. Health services research is understood here as the scientific investigation of the provision of health-related products and services to individuals and the population under everyday conditions.
The following G-BA projects on "Versorgungsforschung" are currently being funded at the Faculty of Medicine:
- PARTNER
- Interprofessional treatment pathway for patient-centered deprescribing of psychotropic, sedative and anticholinergic drugs in elderly patients with multimedication
- Project leader
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Dreischulte
- Institution
- Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine
- Funding
- 2022 to 2025
- Website
- Project description of the GBA
- Topics
If people have to take five or more medicines at the same time, this increases the risk of adverse drug reactions. According to a 2018 study by the University Hospitals of Ulm, Fürth, Bonn and Stuttgart, for example, 6.5% of all cases in emergency departments can be attributed to this. Elderly people who take drugs that have an anxiolytic, sedative, sleep-inducing and muscle-relaxing effect, such as hypnotics or opioids, over a long period of time are particularly at risk. These adverse drug effects are well known in medicine, but the continued widespread use among older people suggests that raising awareness of the issue alone is not enough.
The PARTNER project aims to help reduce the misuse and overuse of these drugs. Discontinuing the active ingredients or switching to a lower dosage (deprescribing) is often time-consuming and requires implementation support for GP practices, pharmacies and the patients themselves.
Accordingly, the project provides for a treatment pathway that includes the distribution of training materials and in-depth cooperation between GP practices and pharmacies in the form of a workshop with case conferences. In addition, patients receive a brochure on deprescribing, which they first discuss with their pharmacist. Based on this, the GP and patient make a joint decision about deprescribing. The effectiveness, costs, benefits and appropriateness of the measure are tested in two groups of 176 patients each, with the control group only receiving general information about drug risks. The project will be funded for 42 months with a total of around 2.05 million euros.
If successful, the project will show whether the adoption of the measure in standard care is effective, efficient and expedient and what the cooperation between GP practices and pharmacies should look like in order to reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions in the long term.
Source: GBA