The Hospital Rethinkers
Interview with Dr. Axel Paeger, Founder and Partner of the AMEOS Group, Zurich
The economic situation of numerous hospitals in Germany is tense. Rising operational costs, acute staff shortages, inadequate funding from health insurance companies, and the introduction of case flat rates are putting many hospitals under pressure. The AMEOS Group from Zurich is familiar with this situation. It is one of the most important health care providers in the German-speaking area and consistently focuses on health.
The situation is serious. Hospitals are being closed for purely economic reasons, others are in bankruptcy proceedings, and no buyers are in sight. Over the past years, AMEOS has saved many hospitals and repositioned them for the future.
Healthcare as Patient
Dr. Axel Paeger founded AMEOS in 2002 in Zurich. "After years of working as a doctor in hospitals, I knew the challenges from my own experience," he says. "In starting the company, I saw the opportunity to operate my own hospitals, thereby improving processes and ensuring regional supply." Since its founding, many things have changed. Among other things, flat-rate case payments, the so-called DRGs, were introduced; hospital services are thus billed per case rather than by days spent in the hospital. The consequence: hospitals that previously operated inefficiently faced difficulties. "In this time, our experience and expertise were highly sought after," says Dr. Axel Paeger.
"We have taken over many hospitals and positioned them in a way that they provide good services. As a result, we grew more than originally planned. Despite challenging conditions, we want to continue this growth. In the hospital sector in Germany, we face a unique situation where the cost side operates according to market economics, while the pricing side is politically set. This led to a discrepancy of 13% in the last two and a half years. In the past, we have taken over many hospitals in bankruptcy, but under current conditions, such acquisitions are no longer realistic, as insolvent hospitals can no longer be rehabilitated due to the lack of compensation adjustments."
Opportunities in Change
Today, AMEOS employs 18,400 staff and generates a turnover of 1.4 billion EUR. The group includes more than 54 hospitals in the DACH region; at each location, the focus is on the individual and their health. Continuous improvement of patient care and increasing efficiency remain central goals for AMEOS in the future. "In the past 18 months, we have successfully implemented 140 restructuring projects," says Dr. Axel Paeger.
"We are evaluating how many locations actually need certain specialties. This way, we have significantly reduced duplicate or redundant provisions without compromising the quality of patient care. Our problem is the 13% gap between costs and prices; this is a bigger challenge for us than the shortage of skilled workers, since we largely train our staff ourselves. I believe that hospitals must transform into competitive, high-performance health centers to ensure long-term, high-level patient care."