[Delegation and substitution of specific medical tasks as a future model of health care supply].

Changing health care needs caused by changing demographics lead to an increasing demand for medical and nursing care in Germany. A declining number of general practitioners will soon cause a lack of health care supply in a growing number of regions. Nurses constituting the largest occupational group in the health care system contribute by filling the resulting gap. Internationally, models have been developed to incorporate new responsibilities for nursing professionals. However, nursing education needs to be adapted as well. Presently nurses are not qualified to take on medical tasks. The current nursing curriculum needs to include medical skills and content to reach a qualification status comparable to other European countries. The transition towards a more team-oriented medical care will have to be supervised and evaluated by health services research in both nursing and clinical care. The aim is to also provide a basis for the further development of the relevant socio-legal framework.