[The Asylum Seekers' Benefit Act in the German Medical Literature: A Scoping Review]

Medical care of asylum seekers in Germany is complicated by laws -predominantly the Asylum Seekers' Benefit Act (ASBA) - that regulate the billing of services. Physicians need to be familiar with these regulations to ensure that these regulations do not hamper the medical care this vulnerable group of patients receives. This article investigates how the ASBA is presented in the medical literature and to what extent the descriptions in the literature meet physicians' information needs.

A scoping review of the German language medical literature published between 01.01.2015 and 14.04.2020 on asylum seekers' medical care in Germany was carried out.

The analysis included a total of 55 articles. The majority of articles (80%, n=44) mentioned the ASBA as an important determinant of asylum seekers' medical care. The definition of the ASBA's recipients and the benefit period was mostly correct, while explanations concerning the scope of benefits covered by ASBA were correct and complete in only 16% (n=9) of the articles. The administrative details connected with the ASBA were mentioned only rarely; 23% (n=10) of the articles falsely portrayed the ASBA as a normative guide for medical practice.

Often, the presentation of the ASBA in the medical literature seems to be unsuitable to guide physicians through the practical problems that often come up when treating asylum seekers. To achieve this, a more nuanced engagement with the topic would be necessary that also pays attention to the legal literature.