Infections affect us all

Globalization and the circulation of bacteria, viruses, and other infectious agents make the fight against infectious diseases and their consequences increasingly important. 

© DZIF

The hospital reform has the stated goal of raising patient safety and quality of care in Germany to a higher level. However, these goals can only be achieved if the infectious diseases performance group, which has been removed from the current draft, is reinstated as an independent performance group. Infectious disease expertise is not an optional extra. It is a systemically important component of modern medicine.

Infections affect us all. At any time.

Around 84 million people live in Germany. Each and every one of them can become seriously ill as a result of infection. Children under the age of five, older people, people with chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular or autoimmune diseases, and people with disabilities or social disadvantages are particularly at risk.

Sepsis, for example, the emergency of all infectious diseases, also affects previously healthy people. In Germany, there are at least 230,000 cases annually, 85,000 of which have resulted in death.

The long-term consequences of infectious diseases are also becoming increasingly important. According to current estimates, a total of 1.5 million people suffer from post-COVID and ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) – the total cost to society is estimated at 60 million euros per year.

Globalization and the circulation of bacteria, viruses, and other infectious agents make the fight against infectious diseases and their consequences increasingly important. This must not be jeopardized by the elimination of funding for infectiology as a separate performance group. The lives of many people and their families have been permanently changed by infections. Infectious diseases can also hit anyone with full force and change their lives forever. 

Politicians are investing billions in research, but are removing the conditions necessary for implementation.

Recent years have shown that the federal and state governments are taking the fight against infections seriously, for example through:

• the national DART 2030 strategy against antibiotic resistance
• the planned “National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases” (2026–2036), with a budget of around 500 million euros
• the nationwide campaign “Germany Recognizes Sepsis”
• quality assurance procedures for sepsis with binding quality indicators from 2026
• the online platform infektionsschutz.de
• the promotion of further training in infectious diseases and the recruitment of infectious disease specialists within the framework of the Hospital Remuneration Act

All these initiatives pursue the same goal: to detect infections earlier, treat them better, and prevent severe cases.

However, without a clearly defined infectious disease performance group, this political investment will come to nothing in everyday clinical practice. There is a lack of structure, responsibility, and funding to bring this knowledge to the widespread use of patients.

Infectiology is an interdisciplinary field and therefore indispensable.

Infectiology is needed for:

• the early detection of dangerous progression,
• the responsible use of antibiotics,
• the prevention of resistant pathogens,
• interdisciplinary cooperation between oncology, intensive care medicine, transplant medicine, and other specialist areas, and
• optimal outpatient care for patients with infections.

Without a performance group, there is no obligation. Without obligation, there is no quality. Without quality, patients bear the consequences.

The deletion of the performance group would not only destroy established structures, but also block the transfer of scientific knowledge into healthcare provision. It was precisely this transfer that was politically desired, but it is now up for discussion..

Our demand

We appeal to the Bundestag and Bundesrat to reverse the deletion of the infectious disease performance group in the current proceedings and to re-include the service group in the KHAG annex. This is the only way to ensure uniform quality standards and crisis-proof care for severe infections nationwide.

A modern hospital landscape needs a clearly defined infectiology – for better treatment outcomes, fewer deaths, and responsible use of antibiotics.

Aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Gemeinsam gegen Infektionen.
The Patient Advisory Boards of the DZIF and DGI 

Background information

• The figures used in the #DeutschlandErkenntSepsis (#DES) campaign and cited in this text are taken from the report “Development of a quality assurance procedure for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care of sepsis” published by the Institute for Quality Assurance and Transparency in Healthcare (IQTIG) on May 31, 2022. These are based on the figures for sepsis cases in 2019 coded in German hospitals according to ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems). It can be assumed that the actual number of sepsis cases in Germany is significantly higher.
• A new report by Risklayer and the ME/CFS Research Foundation models the prevalence and costs of Long COVID and ME/CFS in Germany for the first time. The estimate of 60 million euros per year is based on this report.