Significant delays in accessing psychotherapy services are prompting Germany’s statutory health insurers to call for mandatory reporting of available treatment capacity and a centralized appointment allocation system.
The current situation, described as “unacceptable” sees individuals facing considerable difficulty securing therapy appointments, particularly those with severe mental health conditions. A spokesperson for the health insurance associations highlighted the frustrating process many experience, often involving repeated calls to various practices, leaving messages and waiting indefinitely for a response.
To address this, the health insurers are proposing a systemic overhaul, demanding that psychotherapists legally report a “reasonable” number of available consultation hours and half of their treatment slots to the appointment service centers of the regional physician associations. This information would then be used to streamline the process of connecting patients with available therapists.
The proposed changes aim to alleviate the burden on individuals struggling to navigate the system and ensure more equitable access to care. Existing legislation mandates that these appointment service centers arrange initial psychotherapy consultations within a four-week timeframe. However, recent data reveals this target is consistently missed; in 2023, over half of all inquiries (54%) were not addressed or fulfilled within the prescribed period. The insurance associations also report dissatisfaction with the referrals for ongoing treatment, noting a considerable gap between demand and allocated appointments. In 2023, only 365,000 such appointments were offered, averaging just nine per year for Germany’s approximately 40,000 practicing psychotherapists.