Rhineland-Palatinate sends hospital reform notices for Regioklinik transition

Rhineland-Palatinate is restructuring its hospital landscape with a new facility type, the Regioklinik, and will send official notices to hospitals in the coming weeks. The hospitals in Bingen, Kirn, and Hermeskeil are slated to become Regiokliniken starting in the new year. Regiokliniken are cross-sectoral care facilities bridging inpatient and outpatient treatment without specific service groups, playing a key role in local emergency care, according to Health Minister Clemens Hoch. The ministry plans to send all notices in October, with at least seven possible Regiokliniken under discussion, including ongoing talks in Frankenthal and Bad Dürkheim. The ministry has received 1,285 expert assessments on requested service groups, with 1,065 initially allocated, and the process will conclude this year. The hospital association warns that federal funding cuts could undermine the plans, urging the state to establish a special fund of at least 150 million euros.