Category: Berlin

Answer GKV Spitzenverband

Dear Mr. Alper Cugun,

Thank you for your request. 

A good coverage with medical services and an adequate access for all population groups belong to the central intentions of Health Policy. The question how many doctors will be needed for a suitable supply of the people and how an adequate distribution of doctors can be reached is as nearly as old as the statutory health insurance itself. The GKV-Spitzenverband is a member of the “Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA)”, a committee that decides on legal norms on a federal level, including the “Bedarfsplanungs-Richtlinie”. That is the fundamental basis of the planning policy for outpatient doctors in the regions. Actually, the G-BA decided to change some of the norms and to increase the number of paediatricians by approximately 400. 

Berlin as a metropole has altogether a very high level of doctors in the outpatient care. That includes also the number of paediatricians. In this respect, we have no shortage of paediatricians in general. Nevertheless, as in many other regions we have partially problems with a good distribution of these doctors. 

For Information about concrete measures to improve the supply situation, please contact the KV Berlin. If you have problems to find a paediatrician, you can try the online search engine of the KV Berlin. There you will find nearly 400 paediatricians in Berlin (https://www.kvberlin.de/61arztsuche_en/index.html). You also can call or contact the “Terminservicestelle” of the KV Berlin. That is a special service center of the KV, that arranges appointments with doctors for you, if you can´t find a doctor on your own.

I hope this information will be helpful for you. 

Kind Regards

Kathleen Lehmann
Referat 2140 – Bedarfsplanung, Psychotherapie, neue Versorgungsformen

I think they told me to go fuck myself. But in any case our problem finding a pediatrician has been solved through other means.

Figuring out why there is a shortage of pediatricians

Just like almost every public service in Berlin the pediatrician situation is absolute squalor. It’s impossible to find one who picks up the phone or takes on new patients.

We’ve had some bad incidents in the past with sketchy doctors because of this and now I’m trying to figure out why this is the way it is.

  1. Call my lead for a pediatrician
    “We’re very sorry but we can’t take any new patients.”
  2. Call the Kassenärztliche Verein
    “It’s not us who do this.”
    I am told to call the Dachverband der Krankenkassen
  3. Call the Spitzenverband
    “We do not determine how many pediatricians can settle in a given area.”
    The telephone person says they are a temp and do not have any channel up to their leadership. I’m told to call my own Krankenkasse.
  4. Call Techniker Kankenkasse
    ‘Wir sind nicht dafür zuständig.’
    The person says they have the same problem on a personal level in Hamburg but can’t really do anything for me professionally. I am told to call the Kassenärztliche Verein
  5. Call KV (again)
    Reception says that I can get a peds appointment sometime in the future from a different number of theirs (not what I want). I called this number before and they will not give me a pediatrician and that is if they bother to pick up the telephone.

Every instance says “Dafür sind wir nicht zuständig.” and sends me on until I’ve closed the loop.

It’s not the first time that this happens. I’ve previously spent half an hour being sent in a loop between Polizei and Ordnungsamt. This is the way that Germany functions: nobody is responsible for anything and everybody in between can get fucked.

Corollary: if it is impossible to figure out why something is the way it is, it is also impossible to fix it.

Living without a car in Berlin

From a thread about whether it is possible or not to live in Berlin without a car (gasp!). This is what a normal odd day of mine looks like.

The car isn’t the problem or more like: having a car would be a problem. During those rush hours, doing the same journeys by car would take at least twice as long.

  1. 07:00 aufstehen, Kinder anziehen, KiTa brot machen
  2. 07:45 Lastenrad holen, noch was anziehen usw., Kinder überzeugen einzusteigen
  3. 08:10 Abfahrt zum Kita (andere Seite von Kreuzberg, 2.8km)
  4. 08:25 Kita Ankunft
  5. 08:40 Idealfall Abfahrt Kita zur Arbeit (Schöneberg, 7.7km)
  6. 09:10 Sitze auf dem Arbeitsplatz
  7. 16:30 Abfahrt Arbeit (weil ich sie gebracht habe muss ich sie jetzt nicht abholen, kann auch 16:00 sein oder 17:00)
  8. 16:45 Biomarkt wenn wir noch einkaufen brauchen
  9. 17:10 Abfahrt Biomarkt
  10. 17:25 spätestens wieder zu Hause

Den nächsten Tag tue ich das gleiche andersrum mit dem Zwilingsrad und hole die um 15:30 ab beim Kita. Ich fahre ungefähr 15km Rad pro Tag.

Ich arbeite 30 Stunden aber das ist nicht wegen des Autos oder so sondern weil ich meine Kinder auch ab und zu noch sehen möchte.

Mit Auto wären wir nicht schneller (eher viel langsamer weil Stau + Parkplatzsuche usw.) also das macht für unsere Stunden gar keinen Unterschied.