[Core aspects of a needs-conform care of patients with multiple sclerosis : Utilization of outpatient services and...

Due to the necessity for lifelong treatment, high costs for the healthcare system and changes in role expectations of patients towards physicians, multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important topic in healthcare research.

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current study situation in Germany in 2020 on utilization of outpatient medical resources and shared decision making in patients with MS.

For this review a literature search was carried out in PubMed and other extended sources in order to identify and present relevant publications.

There are only a few studies on the utilization of outpatient medical resources by patients with MS in Germany. The highest values for utilization were found for general practitioners, family physicians and neurologists whereas urologists were less frequently involved. The values for the utilization of services provided by physiotherapists greatly differed between the studies. Several studies using different approaches to shared decision making in Germany were identified and summarized. An important prerequisite for shared decision making is an adequate knowledge on the side of the patients.

Differences in the utilization of outpatient resources by MS patients in Germany can be explained by methodological differences and limitations of the individual studies. The use of shared decision making by MS patients is demanded by various parties but so far there is little evidence for a positive effect on the disease.