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Introduction: In Germany,1.2 million asylum seekers have entered the country in 2015-2016. More than a third of these asylum seekers were women. To understand the situation of asylum seekers' pregnancies, we examined the primary health care of this particular group to understand what, if anything, needs to improve to make the German health system more accessible to pregnant asylum seekers., Methodology: we examined 960 cases of pregnant women who delivered in 2 large maternity clinics in Berlin-Charité between January 2016-August 2017. In our comparative cross-sectional study, we compared 480 asylum-seeking women with 480 local German women. For both patient populations we acquired data on various parameters., Results: We found only two significant differences: (1) The number of antenatal appointments attended by refugee women during their pregnancy was lower than that of the control group. The average number of antenatal appointments in the local control group was 10.6 (Max.: 27, SD 2.85, Min: 2); the refugee women attended on average 8.0 appointments (Max.: 20, SD 3.385, Min: 0) (p=0.000, adjusted relative risk 0.77 95% CI 0.74-0.81). (2) The mean Hb value in the local control group was 11.1 g/dl, while in the asylum-seeking women's group it was 10.6 g/dl (p= 0.00, adjusted difference 0.54 95% CI -0.77 to -0.34)., Conclusions: This study showed that the German health care system is capable of treating asylum-seeking women. Nevertheless, it is possible that our results do not necessarily reflect the ability of the health care system but stem from other selection parameters of the health condition of our subjects, such as the "healthy migrant effect.", Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

This article illustrates the recent developments in Plastic Surgery, which faces new challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the example of a Plastic Surgery department in a maximum care clinic facility in Berlin, we show recent courses of action, that may be relevant for other hospitals and that can possibly help to handle the recent situation as well as possible further waves of infections and to create a constructive way back into Plastic Surgery routine.A view into the future also shows, that in the context of COVID-19 new tasks will challenge our discipline in clinics as well as in private practice., Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Objectives: The number of patients visiting emergency departments (ED) is steadily increasing. The cause for this rise in Germany is unclear and less examined. This study aimed to assess the reasons of walk-in patients to visit EDs by using a direct survey., Methods: During a period of 4 weeks, 2 010 walk-in patients were anonymously surveyed in 2 major Berlin hospitals using a standardized questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis., Results: More than 90% of patients assessed themselves as an emergency and three-quarters of patients reported pain. The majority of patients (57%) tried to contact statutory health insurance (SHI) office-based physicians in advance and 59% of patients said they would make use of ambulatory emergency facilities if they were available and well established. However, 55% of patients were unaware of the emergency service of the association of SHI physicians., Conclusion: The results indicate that centralized ambulatory emergency facilities should be available 24/7 at hospitals with EDs. Therefore, future planning of emergency services should integrate providers of ambulatory and inpatient sector. International experience suggests that different instruments aiming at better coordination of care, such as integrated call centers, extended ambulatory services and facilities for less urgent cases located in or nearby hospitals with EDs should also be implemented in Germany., Competing Interests: Die Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)