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Osteoporosis is a widespread disease of the skeleton that becomes more common with advancing age. Its prevalence is still inadequately documented. The goal of this study is to determine how common osteoporosis is in Germany.The routine billing data of a large statutory health insurance carrier in Germany (the TK company) from the years 2006 to 2009 were anonymized and retrospectively analyzed. Insurees aged 50 and above with osteoporosis were identified either from their bearing the diagnosis of osteoporosis or of osteoporosis-related fractures, or from their having received prescription medication for osteoporosis. The prevalence and incidence of osteoporosis and the frequency of osteoporotic fractures were calculated for TK insurees and extrapolated to the overall German population.The prevalence of osteoporosis among persons aged 50 and above, as revealed by diagnoses of osteoporosis or osteoporotic fractures, or by the prescription of medication for osteoporosis, was found to be 14% (240,657 of 1.7 million insurees) in the year 2009; the sex-specific prevalence was 24% in women and 6% in men. An extrapolation of these figures implies that 6.3 million persons in Germany have osteoporosis. The incidence of osteoporosis in the same age group, as revealed by a diagnosis of osteoporosis or prescription of medication for osteoporosis, was found to be 2.1% per year, with 104,528 insurees having an index event for osteoporosis (initial diagnosis of osteoporosis or first prescription of a medication for osteoporosis). An extrapolation of this figure implies that 885,000 persons newly develop osteoporosis in Germany each year. Over the period of observation, 52% of the affected persons (total, 172,473 persons) sustained fractures, many of which were multiple.Osteoporosis is still common in Germany. The large number of insurees with single and multiple fractures implies that the treatment of this disease in Germany needs to be improved.

Society benefits on a large scale from improved medical care and pharmaceuticals. The prescription of pharmaceuticals, however, also carries risks such as the possibility of an increased risk of falls, which may lead to severe injuries and increased health expenditures associated with these injuries. This study investigates the influence of several fall risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) on the number of injuries of elderly persons using multivariate regression models. Routine data from the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) of frail elderly persons aged Ï 65 years is analyzed for the year 2009 by estimating count data models, in order to take the data generating process of the number of injuries into account. The results of the count data model are compared to those from logistic regressions, which is the default regression model in this fi eld of research. The empirical results suggest that antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics and sedatives, antiarrhythmics, and drugs from the Priscus-list have a signifi cant positive effect on the number of injuries, while antihypertensives and anti-parkinsonian agents show no and neuroleptics a significant negative eff ect. As recurrent injuries are common, the analysis of the number of injuries rather than just the probability of having an injury provides a more informative analysis of FRIDs.

Gesundheit ist sowohl individuell als auch gesamtwirtschaftlich eine wichtige Determinante der Produktivität sowie der Lebensqualität und der Wohlfahrt. Die Gesundheitsversorgung erfolgt in den meisten Ländern nicht ausschließlich über private Märkte, sondern ist staatlich reguliert und teilweise öffentlich finanziert. Die Gründe hierfür sind einerseits Marktversagen auf privaten Krankenversicherungsmärkten und andererseits normativ begründete Ziele der Gesundheitspolitik, wie z. B. der gleiche Zugang zu gleicher Gesundheitsversorgung für alle Menschen. Somit werden im Gesundheitswesen nicht nur wirtschaftliche Effizienzziele, sondern auch Verteilungs- und Umverteilungsziele verfolgt. Qualität und Effizienz lassen sich daher nur unter Berücksichtigung dieser Ziele bewerten.

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich., This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively., Objective While Directive 2011/24/EU on cross-border patient mobility makes specific provisions in relation to information availability and accessibility, little empirical evidence exists to guide best practice. This paper explores the information-seeking behaviour of German patients who received planned care abroad. Methods A postal survey among German patients treated in other European countries was carried out by Techniker Krankenkasse, a major German sickness fund. The influence of certain predictors on whether patients informed themselves before travelling for care was investigated using multiple logistic regression. Types and sources of information were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Information activity was contingent on patients' level of education, type of service, regularity of treatment abroad and awareness of entitlement to cross-border services. Respondents most frequently enquired about elements of reimbursement, entitlement to services and cost-saving, and consulted their sickness fund for information. Differences in both content and medium of choice were observed between patient groups. Conclusion A structured and inclusive approach to information provision should be adopted. National Contact Points should collaborate with a range of stakeholders, who will vary depending on the health care system; however, patient organizations, health professionals and third-party payers should always be represented. Dynamically monitoring cross-border movements can help determine the range, medium and language of relevant information.