Overview

• The CDU/SPD draft amends the Psychisch-Kranken-Hilfe-Gesetz to require clinics to notify authorities when discharging patients deemed potentially dangerous
• The SPD maintains the amendment merely clarifies existing law and would apply to a very small number of cases
• The BDP, VPP and leading psychiatrists warn that forced data-sharing could stigmatize patients and erode doctor-patient trust
• The Greens, AfD and FDP question the need for new reporting rules given existing offender registers and call for expanded psychiatric services
• Experts argue that investments in early intervention and closing care gaps would be more effective for public safety than new coercive measures