Overview

• About two-thirds of visits to Berlin’s central emergency departments are deemed non-urgent by hospital associations.
• AOK Nordost surveys found only 8% of patients sought a 116 117 hotline assessment before arriving, while 26% were doctor-referred and 42% felt too unwell to wait.
• Approximately one-third of ED patients are admitted to hospital and another third could have been treated later by a general practitioner.
• Staff report chronic overcrowding that forces real emergencies to take priority, resulting in long waits even for painful but non-critical conditions.
• Hospital groups and insurers are pressing for co-managed integrated emergency centers and expanded telemedicine-based triage to improve patient steering.