"To do this, we are converting the system in such a way that unnecessary hospital admissions for simple procedures will no longer be worthwhile in the future," said the minister. "The proportion of inpatient treatments is still far too high in our international comparison." That must change in the interests of patients and hospital staff.

Many treatments that were previously done on an inpatient basis should be performed on an outpatient basis in the future. And even for inpatients, the overnight stay is not necessary if the patient wishes it and there is nothing medically opposed to it, said the minister. "It relieves care and doctors. Overnight stays in the hospital are not necessarily part of good medicine," said Lauterbach.