BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - People with statutory health insurance who are recommended to have an artificial hip joint replaced will in future be entitled to a second medical opinion. The new regulation was decided on Thursday by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the highest self-governing body in the healthcare sector made up of representatives from the medical profession, health insurance companies and hospitals, as it subsequently announced.

It is expected that from July 1, 2024, outpatient or inpatient doctors will be able to apply to the associations of statutory health insurance physicians for approval to provide such second opinions on hip joint operations and bill the health insurance funds. Insured persons can then use the website of the medical on-call service www.116117.de/zweitmeinung to find doctors in their area from whom they can obtain a second opinion. This is already possible for various other procedures, such as when a doctor recommends spinal surgery or a new knee joint.

"The doctors working as second opinion specialists check whether the planned operation is really medically necessary from their point of view. They also advise the insured person on possible treatment alternatives," the G-BA stated. According to the information, an above-average number of hip joint operations are carried out in Germany compared to other countries - around 240,000 patients a year./jr/DP/stw