More than 30 representatives, from over 20 institutions covering the fields of politics, sports, medicine and health insurance, shared their expertise at a workshop on June 17 at the Sports, Medicine and Health Summit, held in Hamburg. The aim of the workshop was to intensify the cooperation in order to strengthen the work with physical activity on prescription (PAP) in medical practice. PAP is an important instrument in health and physical activity promotion, especially for physicians. Stakeholders participating in the workshop agreed that physicians should recommend their patients to be physically active, for example, with the help of PAP.
The participants in the workshop could identify that patients were more likely to become more physically active with a written prescription, but that this instrument was rarely implemented by the physicians. The reasons for the hesitant use of PAP were "heatedly discussed in places" during this first summit, according to Prof. Winfried Banzer, co-author of the National Physical Activity Recommendations and co-moderator of the workshop. Among the hurdles identified by key lecturers at the workshop were lack of knowledge among physicians about the effect and appropriate dose of sport and exercise, along with the lack of and/or bureaucratic remuneration for this line of advice by health insurers. The lack of networking between physicians and providers of sport and exercise courses was another. Prof. Banzer believed that this meeting in Hamburg was an important step “- We can only achieve this if we work together”.
The workshop was organized by the German Association for Sports Medicine and Prevention (DGSP), the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), health-insurer DAK, the University of Hamburg and the City of Hamburg. Attending the workshop were participants from the German Medical Association (Bundesaertekammer), the Association of Health Insurance Companies (VDEK), and the German Association for Sports Science (DVS). Furthermore, the German Association for Health Sports and Sports Therapy (DVGS) the Federal Association of Cardiologists in Private Practice (BNK), the German Diabetes Society (DDG), and the Employers' Association of German Fitness and Health Facilities (DSSV), as well as the Hamburg Sports Federation (HSB) participated.
The participating stakeholders agreed to continue their collaboration to facilitate a successful implementation of the issues discussed during the workshop. The results of this first workshop will be published in a report.
A short video of the workshop and the panel discussion (in German) is available on the homepage of the Sports, Medicine and Health Summit.
Expertenworkshop - Sports, Medicine and Health Summit (sports-medicine-health-summit.de)