Overview
- Saxony‑Anhalt’s parliament has changed state law to permit Gemeindenotfallsanitäter (community emergency paramedics) and Telenotärzte (tele‑emergency physicians) to operate across the state.
- The federal cabinet has approved a draft Notfallreform that would turn the 116 117 medical on‑call number into an Akutleitstelle linked with the 112 emergency line and require continuous telemedical advice and home visits from Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen.
- Local medical associations and rescue authorities say the federal draft is underdeveloped and warn a 24/7 phone service and driver visits cannot be provided without more staff and public funding, which they say the bill does not yet secure.
- Practical pilots and the Johanniter mobile on‑call service report strong early results: Telenotarzt pilots kept patients on site in about 90 percent of cases and the Johanniter service closes roughly 80 percent of calls by phone while using telemedics to guide field staff.
- The coming months will focus on who pays for staffing and telemedicine gear, how dispatch centers for 112 and 116 117 will be technically and organizationally linked, and whether national rules can be adapted to rural regional systems without weakening them.