Letters to the Editor
Social Prescribing
The survey of care models for psychosocial problems (1) mirrors my own experiences as a primary care physician (PCP) in an urban neighborhood. The medical referral of patients with psychosocial problems to trained specialists lightens PCPs’ workload and improves the quality of care.
Since 2019 I have worked as a PCP in an urban neighborhood in Hesse, where more than 21 000 people live in an area of 35 km2. The CURANDUM association/network—similar to the HÄPPI concept—was developed because of psychosocial problems in an ageing population and limited PCP capacity (6 full-time positions, rather than 12). Social prescribing is done by including neighborhood managers and a network of more than 60 healthcare providers and volunteers. There is no central point of contact, such as a health kiosk.
The work in the district incurs annual costs of €70 000, financed by subsidies and CURANDUM reg. assoc. It frees up the emergency department of the local hospital by 15% in the blue triage category (2). Handing over psychosocial tasks enables the practice I work in to provide care for more people, especially with frailty diagnoses, with the personnel structure remaining the same. CURANDUM is a service that can be integrated with a low threshold, as suggested by the authors (1).
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0260
Dr. med. Susanne Springborn
Fachärztin für Allgemeinmedizin
Wiesbaden
springborn-komissarenko@t-online.de
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.
| 1. | Herrmann WJ, Napierala H: Care models for psychosocial problems in primary care—a survey on awareness and health policy assessment. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2024; 121: 748–9 VOLLTEXT |
| 2. | Kolb T, Springborn S, Strötges A: „Sektorenübergreifende Quartiersversorgung für Menschen im Alter: das Fallbeispiel CURANDUM“. In: „Monitor Versorgungsforschung“ (2/23); 55–60 . http://doi.org/10.24945/MVF.02.23.1866-0533.2485 |
