#338: Rent regulations, cyclist killed, online medical records

Who will save the ICC?

Nov 26, 2024

Ready for take-off: ICC Berlin, photo by corno.fulgur75, CC BY 2.0.

Dear 20 Percent,

Ever had a medical operation in Berlin/Germany? I had a minor one a few years ago, right in the middle of the corona pandemic. In the run-up to the operation, I had to spend a lot of time in waiting rooms full of coughing people. Half of those people, it seemed, were waiting to pick up or drop off a document from another doctor.

I also had to transfer my own medical information from one clinic to another. Could they email it, I asked. Nope. The fax machine was broken, they said. Snail mail was too slow. And so my only option was to spend half a day travelling across the city to request and deliver a paper letter by hand. I guess I could have hired a bike courier.

Next year this madness ends, thanks to the new electronic patient record (English info) or ePA (elektronische Patienten Akte) that launches in January. In the coming weeks everyone insured at a Krankenkasse will receive a letter explaining how they will be automatically assigned an ePA file, allowing their various medical practitioners to easily view their records. Via an app, patients will be able to limit which doctors see which files — a testament to German ~~paranoia~~ privacy culture.

I don’t know about you, but I want every doctor to be able to see all of my files. In an emergency, this might save my life. And, weirdly, I trust that doctors aren’t going to do anything evil with my medical records — or somehow share them with an employer or insurance company.

Some docs are whining that this is the end of physician–patient privilege — to which I say: Show me the evidence!

What do you think?

Maurice

P.S. Check out this issue’s sponsor, Agavera: Berlin’s purveyor of fine tequilas and other spirits.

Mayor pleading for more regulation on rents

Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) is asking the federal government to regulate rents more strictly. Breaking with the conservative CDU’s doctrine on rent control (let the market deal with it), Wegner told Tagesspiegel, “I would like to see a cap on rent increases introduced nationwide.” Germany already has a law limiting rent increases to 20% over three years, or 15% in areas with a tight housing market. This is simply not enough in an out-of-control housing market like Berlin. According to new figures from the German government, rents in Berlin rose faster than anywhere else in the country between 2014 and 2023, with average “cold” rents doubling from €8.10 per square metre to €16.35.

Another cyclist killed in traffic

Around midnight Monday nigh,t a 38-year-old cyclist was hit by a BMW as he tried to cross Landsberger Allee near Herbert-Tschäpe-Straße. The man died on the spot. The 20-year-old driver is thought to have been speeding. It’s the eleventh time a cyclist has died on the streets of Berlin this year. Please, please, please be careful out there — whether you’re biking, driving or just crossing the street on foot.

Seventies spaceship has space

Depending on whom you ask, the collossal former conference centre in West End, the ICC, is either an architectural masterpiece or a blight on the cityscape. Anyway, it’s been empty for 10 years, because the city is unable to figure out how to fill the 1979 building with new life — let alone come up with an economically viable plan for it. And so it’s announced a tender (what took them so long?) for an investor willing to take on a 99-year lease and renovate and operate the 313-metre-long interstellar battleship as a place for the “arts, cultural and creative industries, innovation and technology”. Too bad Berlin just butchered its culture budget. Still, any takers among you, 20 Percent?

Events this week - selected by The Next Day Berlin:

🎬 Around the World in 14 Films
From 29.11 until 07.12, various times. Cinemas: Kulturbrauerei, Delphi Lux, and Neues Off.
I love the idea behind this event: “Around the World in 14 Films” is a festival showcasing the year’s most outstanding films, offering a global perspective.

🔉RAUSCH
Friday, 29.11, 11 pm - 9 am. Backsteinboot, Eiswerderstrasse 18, 13585 Berlin. Tickets: €18.10/€22.60.
Be ready for an immersive overnight experience centered around drone, ambient, and field-recording music. The event combines meditative live performances with electroacoustic compositions, inviting attendees to relax and engage deeply. Participants should bring sleeping gear to enjoy soundscapes through the night, followed by a morning with tea, coffee, and pancakes, blending art and restful social interaction. 🎧 Margaux 🎧 Rrose

🎸Sonny Casey
Saturday, 30.11, 8 pm. Schiff Helene, Märkisches Ufer 1z, 10179 Berlin. Tickets: €12/€16.
Sonny Casey, an Irish folk singer-songwriter from Galway, crafts poetic, nature-inspired songs with a beautiful voice. Starting as a busker, she is set to release her first album in 2025. 🎧 Phoebe

🖼️ Last chance to enjoy free museum Sunday

A big loss for the cultural scene in Berlin: the “Museum Sonntag” program, which has offered free entry to the city’s museums on the first Sunday of the month since 2021, is coming to an end. Next Sunday is your last chance to enjoy it. If you haven’t visited yet, we highly recommend these exhibitions:

“This Will Not End Well” by Nan Goldin at the Neue Nationalgalerie;
“FOTOGAGA. Max Ernst and Photography” at Museum für Fotografie;
“Monet and the Impressionist Cityscape” at Alte Nationalgalerie;
“Are You Dreaming - On Closed Eyes in Art” at Gemäldegalerie.

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

📔 Angela Merkel’s memoir comes out today

🖼️ Nan Goldin speaks out on Gaza and censorship at the Neue Nationalgalerie

☢️ Germany drawing up list of bomb shelters

🖥️ Does Germany need more data centers?

Factoid

From November 1943 to March 1944, Britain’s Royal Air Force carried out its massive aerial bombing campaign — “The Battle of Berlin” — over the capital of Nazi Germany. In 16 bombing raids, Britain lost 2,690 airmen and 492 aircraft. Historian Laurenz Demps estimated that 7,480 Berliners were killed in the raids. 800,000 were made homeless as vast areas of the city were destroyed.