The German Statutory Pension Insurance finances almost 50 000 medical rehabilitations annually for patients with coronary heart disease. In most cases, the rehabilitation takes place immediately after an acute event or after an intervention/operation. For more than 10 years, the rehab system of the Pension Insurance has used standardized training programs for their patients, including those with coronary heart disease. The “Curriculum coronary heart disease” was established on a nationwide basis in 2003 and updated in 2010. A scientific investigation and evaluation of the training program was carried out in the context of quality assurance. The results in the short term (1), medium term (2), and long term (2) have been published. Even though the setting is not the acute medical sector, the claim made in the article—that sufficiently evaluated and published training and treatment programs for patients with coronary heart disease are to date not available in Germany—will certainly have to be qualified (3).
References
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