With an increasing number of chronically ill patients and a decreasing number of available doctors, telemedicine is demonstrably opening up new possibilities. One example are health apps, although in most cases it is still to be evaluated how these can be meaningfully integrated into a therapy.

Challenge: Telemedicine supports both diagnostics and therapy by bridging the temporal and spatial distance between doctors, therapists, or pharmacists and patients. The practical cases are manifold. For example, telemedicine enables access to specialists in rural areas, remote support for non-medical specialists in the examination of refugees or the nationwide availability of emergency medical competence. But it also contributes to better coordination in the transition from inpatient to outpatient treatment, makes teleconsultations with specialists possible (especially for the treatment of chronic diseases) or offers support for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Outlook: Although telemedical solutions have been tested since the 1980s, they are gaining in importance, especially in recent years, as the underlying technologies are becoming increasingly reliable and affordable. More important than the technology itself, however, is the redesign of treatment processes and a clear definition of the underlying business and billing models. Telemedicine services cannot depend solely on subsidies, but must improve health care in the long term, reduce costs or increase profits.

Healthcare Shapers help to evaluate meaningful areas of application and in the sustainable and future-oriented design of care processes with the help of telemedicine. Learn more about the potential of telemedicine in the video with Healthcare Shapers partner Christian Milaster.