Administrators present Roland Berger report on future of university clinics

Minister-President Günther H. Oettinger and Minister of Science Dr. Peter Frankenberg: University clinics boast excellence and efficiency

A new study by Roland Berger creates a roadmap to address challenges facing university clinics in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and calls for keeping the institutions public. Minister-President Günther H. Oettinger and Minister of Science, Research and the Arts Dr. Peter Frankenberg presented the results today, April 29, 2008 in Stuttgart.

"This report underscores the fact that university clinics in Baden-Württemberg offer high-quality care without breaking the bank," the leaders said.

"According to the study, selling these clinics to private investors doesn't make financial sense at this time. However, the study makes it clear that structural reforms in the clinics will be necessary to tackle financial and investment challenges. We will consider all of the options presented in the study," the ministers added.

The Baden-Württemberg state government plans to discuss the report's findings in legislative sessions in the coming weeks, involving the university clinics, medical schools, universities and employees. The goal of the talks is to prepare an amendment to the law regarding university clinics. Oettinger and Frankberg thanked the experts from Roland Berger and the Linklaters law firm for their efforts.

Study: Privatizing clinics unnecessary

The 250-page study, titled "Improving University Clinics in Baden-Württemberg," finds that privatizing clinics would not make economic sense for the German Land. Rather, the study suggests keeping the centers in their present form, a public-law entity, but making the supervisory boards more professional, creating smaller executive boards and adding an assembly of guarantors. The report also proposes exploring private investor options and further developing the current model of cooperation between clinics and medical schools. Another possibility would be to integrate medical schools into the university clinic.

Baden-Württemberg responsible for promoting university clinics

"The study makes clear that university clinics can compete with private hospitals in the long run only by maintaining enough flexibility to be able to operate efficiently over the long term," ministers Oettinger and Frankenberg said. They also emphasized that the Land has a responsibility to promote medical education on the university level. "Under Solidarity Pact II for 2007 to 2014, the state government has created a reliable financial framework for university medical training. We will then go on to address the issue of improving the structural framework. What's clear is that we will continue to maintain the state's responsibility through appropriate measures for supervision and action.

Background information:

• Roland Berger Strategy Consultants was commissioned to investigate the future of university medical programs in August 2007 by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science.
• Officials from the science and finance ministries worked with Roland Berger and Linklaters on this project (Linklaters was responsible for the study's legal aspects).
• Representatives from universities and clinics in Freiburg, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm took part in the process.
• The Ministry of Science was in contact with employee representatives from university clinics at the above universities
• These four university clinics combine health care with research and teaching in close cooperation with their host universities.
• Over 50 clinics and institutions plus more than 200 departments treat 700,000 patients annually, about 200,000 of which are inpatients and 500,000 outpatients.
• More than 3,000 doctors train over 11,000 medical students.
• University clinics in Baden-Württemberg have been public-law institutions since 1998.
• The Mannheim university clinic is owned by the city of Mannheim, and was not part of this study.