Dresden Clinic: Major restructuring to save from deficit!

Dresden Clinic: Major restructuring to save from deficit!

There are currently major challenges in Germany's healthcare landscape, and the Dresden municipal clinic is not spared from them. The company is in the red and expects a deficit of around 15 to 16 million euros with annual sales of around 400 million euros. As [MDR](https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/klinikum- deficit-umstructureierung-klinik-100~amp.html) reports, the clinic management, under the leadership of commercial director Dirk Töpfer, has therefore initiated comprehensive restructuring, digitalization measures and a strategic realignment in order to achieve this Containing losses and ensuring modern patient care.

The financial difficulties are not just a problem for the Dresden Clinic; Around 80 percent of hospitals in Germany are currently making losses. The main causes lie in the system of hospital financing and strong inflation, which severely affected revenues in 2022 and 2023. According to estimates, the nationwide deficit due to inflation is around 4 to 4.5 percent. In order to meet the challenges, the clinic is planning to increase efficiency in processes, optimize internal processes and adjust the deployment of personnel.

Digitalization as the key

A key aspect of the realignment is the strong focus on digitalization. As [PwC]. In many cases, the operational effort is not sufficiently taken into account, which makes implementation more difficult. Nevertheless, digitalization offers opportunities. It could enable high quality, more efficient care processes that benefit from efficient communication and administrative processes. This means that complex paper forms and fax messages could soon be a thing of the past.

The Federal Ministry of Health emphasizes that digital technologies can help to deal with the aging population and chronically ill people in particular. By providing patient data in a targeted manner, treatments could be made more individual and effective. These changes have the potential to both strengthen patients' health literacy and develop new revenue models for clinics. A well-managed digitalization project is therefore a step in the right direction.

What the future brings

The Dresden Municipal Clinic is pursuing the goal of achieving a “black zero” so that in the future it will not only be dependent on city funding for investments. The focus is placed on outpatient care, while traditional inpatient structures are reduced. Employees should be more closely involved in the new processes, which, however, entails an increased need for personnel - both in the IT and medical areas. Despite the challenges presented, the clinics currently remain the central point of contact for healthcare in the region.

Through these restructurings and the focus on digitalization, the clinic is well on its way to not only improving its financial situation, but also optimizing health care in Dresden in the long term. The coming months will show to what extent it is possible to adapt to the significant changes and successfully implement the necessary measures.