Telemedicine, an Important Factor for Business

6 – 8 May 2014, Berlin, Germany.
More and more hospitals are becoming involved in telemedicine projects or have established electronic networks with resident practitioners. Providing it is managed in an intelligent way this kind of cooperation not only improves patient care but can also have a positive economic effect on hospitals. It also potentially boosts their image as employers. conhIT – Connecting Health IT will be showing how this can work and highlighting the challenges that lie ahead. In addition to information at the Industrial Fair, this industry event on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds will feature numerous events on the topic of telemedicine.

Germany is among Europe’s leading nations when it comes to scientifically researching and implementing telemedicine applications. Germany was instrumental in developing the concept of telemedicine for strokes. In such cases patients who have suffered a stroke are video-monitored by experts in smaller hospitals in order to decide on the right therapy. Major clinical studies on the telemedicine monitoring of outpatients suffering from chronic illnesses, with regard to vital parameters in cases of heart insufficiency, have taken place in Germany.

Major competitive advantage for hospitals
Despite these favourable conditions, the use of telemedicine in Germany has not yet spread to all areas. “Even though we have genuine beacon projects, quite frequently the possibilities that this technology offers, especially in hospitals, are not being exploited”, says Nino Mangiapane, head of the Telematics/Health Department of Germany’s Federal Health Ministry. Together with Norbert Butz, head of the Telemedicine and Telematics Department of the German Medical Association, Mangiapane will be chairing a Congress session on telemedicine at conhIT 2014 in Berlin.

“Experience has shown that telemedicine care concepts can benefit hospitals, allowing them to broaden their range of services and establish cross-sectoral care concepts,” says Dr. Johannes Schenkel, an expert on telemedicine at the German Medical Association. Ultimately, the use of telemedicine would make hospitals more attractive for patients and the doctors responsible for their cases, he adds. However, this should not be taken for granted. According to Mangiapane, “it would be short-sighted to only consider what is technically viable. Creating noticeable improvements for those involved, i.e. a well thought-out care concept, are the key to success.”

Does telemedicine make a doctor’s job any more attractive?
In addition to doctors’ traditional telemedicine consultations, the monitoring of discharged patients represents another potential field where telemedicine can benefit hospitals by boosting their regional business and increasing efficiency. According to Mangiapane, “it is extremely important to closely involve outpatient doctors because these projects involve existing care management processes.” Portals which facilitate the exchange of data between inpatient and outpatient environments provide technical support for cross-sectoral cooperation and bring the professionals within the various groups closer together. This aspect will also be discussed at the telemedicine session at conhIT 2014.

Besides the basic economic considerations there are other less obvious factors which suggest that hospitals should examine using telemedicine to a greater degree. “We know from telemedicine projects dealing with neurology as well as radiology that they can potentially make the workplace more attractive,” says Schenkel. Doctors who receive telemedicine support from their colleagues value their contributions highly. The fact that telemedicine makes it possible to offer patients better care allows doctors to gain greater satisfaction from their jobs. Not least, telemedicine can help to improve social working conditions by allowing people to work part-time and from home.

Telemedicine at conhIT 2014
The programme of conhIT, which is available from the end of February at www.conhit.de, contains numerous events which directly or indirectly deal with experiences in telemedicine. On 8 May alone the programme will feature the following:

• Congress session 18: “Telemedicine for patients, an important factor for business”
• Panel discussion: “Telemedicine law – what now, one year after its implementation?”, organised by BITKOM, bvitg e.V., ZVEI e.V.
• Tour of the Industrial Fair with a focus on telemedicine.

At the conhIT Industrial Fair all the major market players and numerous SMEs will be exhibiting their entire range of health IT products. Anyone interested in finding out more about exhibitors’ products and services ahead of conhIT can search by topic on the website of the conhIT Virtual Market Place. Visitors still have until 31 March 2014 to obtain their free ticket to the conhIT Industrial fair.

For further information, please visit:
http://www.conhit.de

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