[Rheumatologic inpatient treatment-more than a complex treatment : Data reflecting services and structures]

To review and be prepared for upcoming reforms, data from the InEK (Institut für das Entgeltsystem im Krankenhaus, institute for remuneration in hospitals) data browser and the structured quality reports for inpatient rheumatologic treatment were evaluated. Rheumatologic treatment is very diversified, both in terms of diagnoses and structures. Different specializations can be identified. Rheumatologic complex treatment (RCT) is just one of these and is performed on average in just over 10% of cases. In 2020, cases for selected rheumatological diagnoses decreased by more than 20% compared to 2019. For RCT, the decline was even more pronounced with more than 30%. Evidence of higher disease severity could not be found in the available data. It remains to be seen whether the pre-Corona caseload will be regained in the coming years. In all, 146 organizational departments with more than 20 principal diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were identified in 2019. Forty-seven (32%) of these coded RCT more than ten times, and 29 (20%) more than one hundred times. All 23 departments with more than 300 principle diagnoses of RA are members of the Association of Rheumatological Acute Care Hospitals (Verband rheumatologischer Akutkliniken, VRA), 15 of which participated in the KOBRA quality project and carry the VRA seal of approval. Of the 116 internal medicine departments, only 55 (47%) use a specific specialty code for a rheumatology department according to Article 301 SGB V (social insurance code). Information on specialist staffing was partly contradictory. How many cases with inflammatory rheumatic diseases are treated in specialized departments cannot be answered with the available data. Nevertheless, the available data can be used for specialist, structural, and organizational developments in acute inpatient rheumatology.