[The DRG law--planning gone wrong? The conversion from the physician's point of view]

With the Health Care Reform Act of 2000 the German government initiated the introduction of a new hospital funding system based on an internationally used Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) system. In June 2000, the medical self-governing bodies (consisting of representatives of the German Hospital Federation, the German Statutory Health Insurance Funds and the Association of Private Health Insurances) commissioned for the execution of this project decided to use the Australian Refined DRG system, version 4.1 (AR DRG) as the basis for the future German (Refined) DRG system (G-DRG). It is planned for voluntary hospitals to replace the previous German hospital reimbursement system by the new DRG-based hospital funding system in January 2003. From January 2004, the change of the reimbursement system will be mandatory for all hospitals with the exception of psychiatric, psychosomatic and psychotherapeutic hospitals or units. The new reimbursement system is not only intended to cover acute hospital care but also parts of early rehabilitation, palliative and sub-acute care. Due to its economic incentives the effects of introducing the DRG system in Germany will not only affect the hospital sector but ambulatory care, nursing and rehabilitation as well.