The Federal Joint Committee (German: ''Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss'') refers to a group of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

agencies that were merged in 2004, under an independent chairman. It is authorized to make binding regulations growing out of health reform bills passed by lawmakers, along with routine decisions regarding

healthcare in Germany Germany has a universal multi-payer health care system paid for by a combination of statutory health insurance (') and private health insurance ('). The turnover of the health sector was about US$368.78 billion (€287.3 billion) in 2010, equi ...

. Although the committee is not a subordinate agency and is independent of the

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, government officials are responsible for exercising legal supervision over the committee's decisions and guidelines. As a supreme decision-making body, the Committee exerts a direct influence on the healthcare provisions for millions of people.

History

The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) was formed in 2004 by the merger of the following organizations * Bundesausschuss der Ärzte und Krankenkassen (''Federal committee of Physicians and Health Insurers'') * Bundesausschuss der Zahnärzte und Krankenkassen(''Federal committee of Dentists and Health Insurers'') * Koordinierungsausschuss (''Federal coordination committee'') * Ausschuss Krankenhaus (''Hospital committee'') These organizations had been created several decades ago to ensure supervision of the professional relationship between doctors and health insurers. Their roots can be partially traced back to the

Weimar Republic The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...

in the late-1910s and 1920s. In 2004, they were renamed and merged into the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) as follows: * Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung und Kassenzahnärztliche Bundesvereinigung (''National Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and Dentists'') * Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft (''German Hospital Federation'') * GKV-Spitzenverband (''Central Federal Association of Health Insurance Funds'') As a supreme decision-making body, the Joint Committee exerts a direct influence on the healthcare provisions for millions of people.

Decision-making process

In the early stages of the Committee 's

decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either r ...

process, assessment reports of diagnostic or therapeutic interventions are prepared by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care on behalf of the committee. All resolutions and guidelines passed by the Federal Joint Committee are subsequently audited by the

. The directives issued by the committee are legally binding for publicly insured persons as well as for the providers and payers of health care. In total, healthcare provisions for 70 million people, excluding those who are privately insured, are determined by the committee.

Notable guidelines

Following the

German acupuncture trials The German acupuncture trials (german: GERAC-Studien) were a series of nationwide acupuncture trials set up in 2001 and published in 2006 on behalf of several German statutory health insurance companies because of a dispute as to the usefulness o ...

from 2002 to 2006, the Committee decided to include

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scient ...

into the catalogue of services covered by statutory health insurance organizations for the treatment of low back pain and knee pain. On June 17, 2010, the Committee removed the usage of glinides from general prescription guidelines for the reduction of human

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, usi ...

levels. It justified its decision by referring to the conclusion of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care that proof of efficacy was lacking. In 2013, the Committee issued a preliminary decision ruling that a

fixed dose combination A combination drug or a fixed-dose combination (FDC) is a medicine that includes two or more active ingredients combined in a single dosage form. Terms like "combination drug" or "combination drug product" can be common shorthand for a FDC pr ...

of Stribild does not offer a benefit over Atripla for HIV treatment.

References

External links

Official homepage
{{Authority control Medical and health organisations based in Berlin

History

Decision-making process

Notable guidelines

See also

References

External links