Criticisms levelled by a patient advocate towards MPK's judgement on PCR testing procedures
In a recent development, Eugen Brysch, the chairman of the Patient Protection Foundation, has called for a change in Germany's COVID-19 testing regulations to prioritize home caregivers.
In an email shared with the media, Brysch highlighted the critical need to reliably detect any infection among care recipients. He reiterated his call for caring relatives to be prioritized in testing regulations, arguing that five million relatives in Germany currently have no access to lab tests.
Brysch asserted that the gold standard for testing should not only be applied to medical and nursing professionals, but also to caring relatives. He criticized the current prioritization of PCR tests by the conference of state prime ministers, claiming that it overlooks the needs of vulnerable people.
According to Brysch, a missed or late recognized infection can make home a high-risk area. He urged the Federal Minister of Health to prioritize caring relatives in the testing regulation, emphasizing that three million people in need of care rely on daily support from their relatives.
To amend the testing regulation, the legal framework governing test eligibility and prioritization would need to be updated at the federal and state levels. This could involve formally recognizing home caregivers as a high-priority group for COVID-19 tests within official pandemic regulations and guidelines issued by the Federal Ministry of Health and the 16 German states.
The amendment could define home caregivers as a priority group eligible for free or expedited rapid or PCR testing due to their critical role in protecting vulnerable individuals in home care settings. It could also require testing providers and public health authorities to allocate sufficient testing resources to home caregivers, ensuring easy and fast access.
Recommendations from expert advisory bodies, such as the Robert Koch Institute and the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), would be integrated to support prioritization criteria that include home caregivers. Additionally, adjustments would be made to reimbursement and funding mechanisms so that tests for home caregivers are government-funded similarly to other vulnerable or prioritized groups.
The priority for home caregivers would be incorporated into existing testing strategies, including rapid citizen tests (Bürgertests) and point-of-care PCR testing, to prevent outbreaks among at-risk populations cared for at home.
While there is no specific text in the search results directly quoting Brysch's proposal to amend regulations, Germany has previously set legal frameworks allowing prioritized testing (e.g., for high-risk travelers and vulnerable groups), which could be extended to home caregivers through targeted regulation amendments led by health authorities. Such changes usually require coordination between federal and state governments and alignment with scientific advisory committees.
In summary, by officially categorizing home caregivers as a priority group in the legal testing framework and adjusting funding and operational guidelines accordingly, the testing regulations can be amended in line with Eugen Brysch's suggestion to ensure they receive prioritized COVID-19 testing access.
