Emergency surgery on the throat - that does sound scary. I’m glad to hear that you’re home and recovering. Thanks for the informative article. I had read in the German media about minister Lauterbach’s planned reforms of the German health system. I knew that he had planned to close underutilized hospitals but I didn’t understand the full extent of the problem. Thanks again for consistently providing well researched articles that help explain what is being reported in the German and English speaking media. Gute Besserung!
Perhaps most interesting is the comparatively low ranking of the German healthcare system in outcomes. One aspect that you highlight is the widespread primacy of surgery given in treatment. This is confirmed by a friend of mine, a quite eminent Munich professor of oncology, who told me when I asked him about a second opinion after having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, “you are lucky to live in Britain” - despite the shortcomings of the NHS. In his view, not just lesser qualified hospitals but specialists quite generally revert far too easily to surgery, which in the case of prostate cancer in particular doesn’t seem to be that efficient in preventing a spread of the disease. This goes back to an old myth, born out of an outdated hierarchical system, about the “Halbgötter in Weiß” sitting at the top of the medical profession.
As an aging boomer (65 in a few months) I have long sung the praises of the German healthcare system, especially compared to disaster that is CDN healthcare but I have noticed it’s getting harder to get appointments with some specialists and wait lists for things like MRI and such are lengthening. Overall extremely happy thst I am spending my retirement years in the Germany rather than Canada
Emergency surgery on the throat - that does sound scary. I’m glad to hear that you’re home and recovering. Thanks for the informative article. I had read in the German media about minister Lauterbach’s planned reforms of the German health system. I knew that he had planned to close underutilized hospitals but I didn’t understand the full extent of the problem. Thanks again for consistently providing well researched articles that help explain what is being reported in the German and English speaking media. Gute Besserung!
Perhaps most interesting is the comparatively low ranking of the German healthcare system in outcomes. One aspect that you highlight is the widespread primacy of surgery given in treatment. This is confirmed by a friend of mine, a quite eminent Munich professor of oncology, who told me when I asked him about a second opinion after having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, “you are lucky to live in Britain” - despite the shortcomings of the NHS. In his view, not just lesser qualified hospitals but specialists quite generally revert far too easily to surgery, which in the case of prostate cancer in particular doesn’t seem to be that efficient in preventing a spread of the disease. This goes back to an old myth, born out of an outdated hierarchical system, about the “Halbgötter in Weiß” sitting at the top of the medical profession.
Interesting read
As an aging boomer (65 in a few months) I have long sung the praises of the German healthcare system, especially compared to disaster that is CDN healthcare but I have noticed it’s getting harder to get appointments with some specialists and wait lists for things like MRI and such are lengthening. Overall extremely happy thst I am spending my retirement years in the Germany rather than Canada