Praxis
-
Under the provisions of the Health Insurance Law (KVG), the costs of preventive medicine are to be borne by the mandatory health insurance. Although it has been defined who shall be responsible for taking the necessary measures, concrete objectives have yet to be established. ⋯ The author discusses basic questions relating to this situation: The nature of the preventive measures (GENOME Analysis), and the economic efficiency. An insight is also given into the work of the Preventive Medicine Services Subcommittee of the Federal Service-Providing Committee (Subkommission Präventive Leistungen der Eidgenössischen Leistungskommission) and the criteria adopted.
-
In the Intensive Care Unit important decisions in critically ill and often incompetent patients have to be made within a short period of time and without all the necessary information. Two main questions arise: 1. How can the autonomy of the patients be respected under these circumstances? 2. Which diagnostic and therapeutic activities are adequate and reasonable in each individual patient? An optimal communication between the people involved helps to find the best answers.