Remote diagnosis by telemedicine network

Telemedicine network for heart patients started

10/13/2011

In Cottbus, Germany's first nationwide telemedicine network was launched. Up to 500 patients with chronic heart failure should be remotely medically supervised and looked after around the clock with the help of modern information and communication technologies (ICT), said the Brandenburg Minister of Health Anita Tack (Die Linke) at the official inauguration of the novel telemedicine network, as.

The project, funded by the federal and state government with 1.53 million euros, is intended to enable heart patients with a high health risk to have their medical data checked around the clock, even from home or on vacation, without having to see a doctor , As emphasized by the Minister of Health Anita Tack, all participants enter new territory with the telemedicine network. With the help of the novel model „Above all, we want to improve the health care of rural people“, continue like this. The State Minister of Health expressed her confidence that, in addition to the Cottbus Carl-Thiem-Klinikum and the Städtische Klinikum Brandenburg / Havel, which are currently involved in the project „other clinics on the project“ will participate and the close cooperation with general practitioners and cardiologists will be further developed.

Medical data is transmitted by radio
In the future, the telemedicine network's major project will contribute to avoiding burdensome double examinations and expensive hospital stays, thus noticeably improving the quality of life of high-risk cardiac patients, according to the State Minister of Health. In order to implement the novel care model, the AOK Nordost has concluded an integrated care contract with the hospitals involved, which also regulates the assumption of costs when participating in the project. The telemedicine network, implemented on the basis of state-of-the-art technology, was developed in its supply with the support of the Berlin Charité and implemented in its technical infrastructure by Deutsche Telekom and Getemed Medizin- und Informationstechnik AG from Teltow in Potsdam-Mittelmark. To collect the relevant medical data from the cardiac patients, they receive a suitcase with diagnostic equipment for measuring blood pressure, ECG data, weight and blood oxygen saturation, said the Minister of Health. All recorded data and the information on findings and the drug intake are continuously transmitted by radio to the electronic patient file in the telemedicine center of the two hospitals, Tack continues.

Telemedicine networks as an option for high-risk cardiac patients
In the clinics, medical teams are on 24-hour standby and continuously evaluate the patient data transmitted via the telemedicine network, explained the Minister of Health. As soon as the data indicate that patients are critically ill, those concerned and their physicians are informed immediately, with the principal physicians and cardiologists receiving all important diagnostic data prior to the patient's visit, Tack underlined the advantages of the telemedicine network. In this way, not only the quality of life for the participating patients, because they do not constantly need to visit the doctor to check, but also the effectiveness of the treatment will be significantly improved, said the Brandenburg Minister of Health. How many people could be helped with comparable telemedicine networks can be deduced from the numbers of cardiac patients throughout Germany. For example, heart weaknesses, with around two to three million people affected, are considered to be one of the most common diseases in Germany, stressed Tack. According to the Federal Statistical Office, heart failure (acute heart failure) was the third leading cause of death in 2010 and the second most frequent reason for inpatient hospitalization. In the future, the telemedicine networks based on state-of-the-art ICT technology can help to significantly reduce mortality in the presence of cardiac insufficiency, according to the assessment of the Brandenburg Minister of Health. (Fp)

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Image: Dieter Schütz