During the pandemic, health authorities were severely overloaded. The federal government therefore created thousands of new jobs – but the funding for this is set to expire in 2026. Medical officer boss Böhm warns of a “risky backward role”.
Medical officers warn of staffing gaps in German health authorities. During the corona pandemic, thousands of new positions were created in offices with federal funds. “But the federal funding will expire in 2026,” said the chairwoman of the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD), Kristina Böhm, to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Because of the difficult budgetary situation in most municipalities, there is now a risk of a “risky backward roll.” In many cities and municipalities, a number of the newly created positions expired at the end of 2026 or were only filled on a temporary basis from the outset. “Especially in the small rural health authorities, there is a great risk that gaps will soon arise again,” warned Böhm. The federal, state and local governments must strengthen the health authorities in the long term.
Patient data is still sent by fax
There are also still problems with digitalization: the offices still work with fax machines, which is because many medical practices still send patient data by fax, said Böhm. There is not even a uniform software to process the faxes digitally. “At this point we are not at all where we should be,” she criticized. With laboratories and clinics, however, data transmission is now completely digital.
Böhm also called for a new basic understanding of how to deal with crises. “So that we are prepared for future pandemics, we must have significantly more material and personnel in reserve,” demanded the association chair. However, many politicians balked at the high maintenance costs, “but this is the only way to prepare for a sudden crisis.”