Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) in der Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe

Structural and financial pressures in the German healthcare system have led to the decision at the national level to introduce diagnosis-related groups for most medical fields. This decision, to be implemented over the next 3 years, will challenge politicians as well as all groups of healthcare workers. The lack of a database and the lack of information for internal calculations and long-term planning mean that the infrastructural prerequisites for a DRG system are not in place. Thus, it is questionable whether the introduction of DRGs alone will ease the financial pressures in the German healthcare system. A decrease in quality is possible, particularly for fields like obstetrics and gynecology which have numerous therapeutic and diagnostic areas. Quality management and assessment measures will be required to address this problem.