New reporting regulations for clinics: Lauterbach wants to introduce “pandemic radar”.

A major shortcoming in the fight against the pandemic in Germany is the poor and delayed data situation.

New reporting regulations for clinics: Lauterbach wants to introduce “pandemic radar”.

A major shortcoming in the fight against the pandemic in Germany is the poor and delayed data situation. Federal Health Minister Lauterbach wants to improve this with the introduction of a “pandemic radar”. Clinics should provide information about occupied beds more quickly, and new standards should apply in homes.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to counter a new corona wave with a "pandemic radar" - this includes new reporting regulations for hospitals, other structures in nursing homes and wastewater monitoring in health facilities.

"Hospitals should be obliged to regularly report the number of occupied beds and beds set up in normal wards per hospital," says the Federal Ministry of Health's proposal for a new regulation of the Infection Protection Act, which is available to the "Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland" (RND). Lauterbach told the RND that the report should be "daily updated".

The aim is “a kind of pandemic radar” with which a better overview of the infection process can be achieved. "So far we only know how many beds are free in the clinics - and with a delay. That's not enough," said the minister. In addition, “infection and vaccination rates in health facilities” should be “higher than before”. Waste water monitoring should also be expanded there. "This allows conclusions to be drawn about the infection process," said Lauterbach.

According to Lauterbach's ideas, there should be a vaccination and medication officer in all nursing homes in the future. "The homes will be obliged to appoint those responsible for hygiene, vaccination and drug therapy," said the minister. "Pandemic management in homes should no longer depend solely on the random commitment of individuals, but must not fall below nationwide standards in the future. If, for example, a registered nurse gives everyone who has tested positive access to special medicines, a lot has already been gained. "The death rate will increase sink," said Lauterbach.