The Federal Ministry of Health (german: link=no, Bundesministerium für Gesundheit), abbreviated BMG, is a cabinet-level ministry of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. It is the highest German federal government department responsible for health. The ministry is officially located in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

and with a second office, which houses the ministry's management, location in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

MJK_67604_Karl_Lauterbach_(Bundestag_2020)

History

The Federal Ministry of Health was founded in 1961; in 1969 it was merged with the Federal Ministry for Family and Youth to create the new Federal Ministry for Youth, Family and Health. In 1991, the Federal Ministry of Health was restored. In 2002, it was expanded to include social affairs and renamed "Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security" ('). It was headed by the Federal Minister for Health and Social Security. Its portfolio included one part of the former Federal Ministry of Labour and the Social Order. The other part of the latter was added to the portfolio of the newly created Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour. Under the

grand coalition A grand coalition is an arrangement in a multi-party parliamentary system in which the two largest political parties of opposing political ideologies unite in a coalition government. The term is most commonly used in countries where there are ...

headed by

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

in 2005, the portfolio reshuffle was reversed and responsibility for social affairs was moved back to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social affairs (').

Ministers

Political Party:

Responsibilities of the Federal Ministry of Health

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for: * maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of the statutory health insurance and long-term care insurance systems * maintaining and enhancing the quality of the health care system * strengthening the interests of patients * maintaining economic viability and stabilization of contribution levels * preventive and prophylactic healthcare * the Protection against Infection Act (', or ''IfSG'') * establishing guidelines for the manufacture, clinical trial, approval, distribution channels and monitoring of medicines and medical devices. The objectives are: ** quality, medical efficacy and safety ** safety of biological medical products such as blood products * narcotics and addiction risk prevention * prevention, rehabilitation and disability policy ** medical and occupational rehabilitation ** disability law ** providing assistance to the disabled and promoting their interests * European and international health policy, including the work of the Federal Government Narcotics Officer and the patients' ombudsman.

Supervisory role

The Federal Ministry of Health is responsible for the comprehensive (disciplinary) supervision of the following governmental institutions: * Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (german: link=no, Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, abbreviated BfArM) in

* Federal Centre for Health Education (german: link=no, Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung, abbreviated BZgA) in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

* German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (german: link=no, Deutsches Institut für medizinische Dokumentation und Information, abbreviated DIMDI) in

* (PEI), the Federal Institute for

Vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

and

Biomedicines Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

Langen, Hesse Langen is a town of roughly 39,000 in the Offenbach district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. The town is between Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Langen is headquar ...

Robert Koch Institute The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federa ...

(RKI) in

The Federal Ministry of Health is also responsible for the non-disciplinary supervision of * the German Federal (Social) Insurance Authority ('). and the legal supervision', includes review of legality of actions of those institutions of the umbrella organizations of the statutory health insurance schemes.

References

External links

Federal Ministry of Health official web site

European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies > Country information Germany
{{Authority control

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

Germany, Health

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...