Health care reform and Diagnosis Related Groups in Germany: The mediating role of Hospital Liaison Committees for Jehovah's Witnesses

摘要

Resulting from health care reform in Germany that was implemented in 2003-2004, a new Medical classification system called the "Diagnosis Related Groups" (DRGs) was introduced in hospitals. According to the media, social scientists, and a few physicians interviewed in this study the policy negatively transformed the German health care system by allowing the privatization of the hospital sector consistent with the neoliberal health care model. Allegedly, this privileged economic values over the quality of health care and introduced competition between hospitals. Nevertheless, members of the Hospital Liaison Committees (HLCs) of Jehovah's Witnesses argued that the DRGs system could be used to the advantage of Jehovah's Witness (JW) patients. HLCs often assist in the patient's search by providing names of physicians that would be willing to refrain from blood transfusions.