Authors:
Domenic Sommer
;
Sebastian Wilhelm
;
Diane Ahrens
and
Florian Wahl
Affiliation:
Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Technology Campus Grafenau, Hauptstrasse 3, 94566 Grafenau, Germany
Keyword(s):
Telemedicine, Remote Medicine, Delivery of Healthcare, Ehealth, Rural Health, Germany.
Abstract:
Telemedicine (TMed) is becoming popular due to the growing number of elderly and the shortage of healthcare workers. In Germany, TMed is rarely part of rural healthcare, and the research state is limited. To
improve healthcare and to research the conditions under which TMed can be used in German rural areas, an
intersectoral, TMed network was set up from July 2018 to Oct. 2020 and evaluated with mixed methods, including qualitative interviews and quantitative feedback forms. Seven Use-Cases (UCs) were implemented in
the dimensions: (i) home visits (n = 170), (ii) patient video consultation (n = 30), (iii) intensive care (n = 15),
(iv) mountain accident (n = 6), (v) wound management (n = 6), (vi) caregiver video consultation (n = 3) and
(vii) electronic health record (n = 10). Our study indicates that digitally supported general practitioner (GP)-
home visits and intensive care are the most frequent UCs. TMed is satisfactory and leads to advantages for
rural healthcare. However
, vital data transmission and the electronic health record (eHR) were less in demand
due to high preparation efforts. Findings from previous studies can be confirmed. Facilitators for TMed who
should be considered and further researched are: training on digital literacy including awareness-rising, financing, cross-institutional documentation, and suitable mobile network infrastructure.
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