Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42454098›Full record

ArticleGerman medical science : GMS e-journal2026

Towards an integrated care. A position paper by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF).

Steffi G Riedel-Heller, Manfred Gogol, Thomas Schmitz-Rixen, Vera von Dossow, Rolf-Detlef Treede

Abstract readConsensus Statement
In one paragraph

Article in German medical science : GMS e-journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Steffi G Riedel-HellerDepartment of Social Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
Manfred GogolAd hoc Committee Health Services, Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), Berlin, Germany.
Thomas Schmitz-RixenGerman Society for Surgery (DGCH), Berlin, Germany.
Vera von DossowDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, University Hospitals of the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Medical School OWL (Bielefeld University), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Rolf-Detlef TreedeDepartment of Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center for Translational Neuroscience (MCTN), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research question: Germany's longstanding separation of healthcare sectors - most prominently between outpatient and inpatient care - creates risks of fragmented service delivery, disrupted information flows, and ultimately suboptimal outcomes for patients. This position paper examines how cross-sectoral and integrated strategies can effectively mitigate or overcome this fragmentation. Methods: During a Berlin Forum of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) (6 December 2024), experts presented best-practice models and discussed legal, structural, financial, and regional dimensions of integrated care. The insights from these discussions were synthesized into AWMF's recommendations. Results: Integrated care represents a critical lever for improving the efficiency and quality of the German healthcare system. Promising examples exist across surgical, medical, psychiatric, and regionalized care settings. Key recommendations address the following topics: harmonized financing and remuneration system, regional population-based healthcare networks, interoperable information exchange across healthcare sectors, shared decision-making on care options. Health services research - and especially implementation research - plays an indispensable role in guiding and evaluating these reforms. The AWMF further emphasizes the need for integrated education and postgraduate training, particularly within structured residency networks, and offers AWMF as an important interdisciplinary and interprofessional platform for promoting cross-sectoral care. Conclusions: Broad implementation of integrated care, combined with robust and evidence-based monitoring of implementation, is essential for meeting the challenges posed by demographic change and increasing demands on healthcare delivery.

Indexed as

Delivery of Health Care, IntegratedGermanyHealth Services ResearchHumansSocieties, MedicalSocieties, ScientificdigitisationGermanyhealth care sectorsintegrated careremuneration

Identifiers

PMID42454098
PMCPMC13366118

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.