Sip Germany

Prof. Dr. Dr. Joachim Nadstawek, President of the German BVSD (Berufsverband der Ärzte und Psychologischen Psychotherapeuten in der Schmerz- und Palliativmedizin in Deutschland e.V.), calls for a restructured pain therapy within the German health care system. In Germany, a pain patient usually would have to wait about two years before being diagnosed correctly and another two years before being treated adequately. Only 350.000 out of 3.4 million patients suffering from chronic pain in Germany would have access to a pain specialist working in one of the 1.173 health care centers.

During this year’s congress, Nadstawek underlines the necessity of a new specialized pain management system (SASV) within the statutory health insurance and asks the German Health Minister Hermann Gröhe for political support. Interdisciplinary, qualified teams should be established in order to make sure that pain patients receive adequate treatment. Action would have to be taken soon, otherwise the lack of young doctors would aggravate the Situation.

The BVSD president asks the German health authorities to clear the way for the introduction of such a system. The intensive co-operation between GPs, specialists, psychotherapists, physiotherapists and pain nurses would allow a greater efficiency in pain management and enable patients to reintegrate into the workforce.

UVSD SchmerzLOS e.V. supports this initiative.