Der Bedarf an Alternativen zur Präsenzmedizin steigt immer mehr an, nicht zuletzt durch
die Coronapandemie. Tele-intensivmedizinische Konsil-Leistungen haben im Rahmen der Vorstufe des
Virtuellen Krankenhauses Nordrhein-Westfalen (VKh) sowohl zu einem Versorgungs- als auch zu
einem patientenindividuellen Nutzen beigetragen. Es gilt nun, digital gestützte
Versorgungsnetzwerke für die Intensivmedizin flächenhaft – auch europaweit – zu
etablieren.
Abstract
The Corona pandemic is a clear demonstration of the need for an alternative to
face-to-face medicine. This demand makes telemedicine the tool of choice. In the preliminary
stage of the Virtual Hospital North Rhine-Westphalia (VKh), tele-intensive care consultation
services have contributed to both a benefit in terms of care and a benefit for individual
patients. The task now is to roll out and use digitally-supported intensive-care networks
across the board, including throughout Europe. The goal of telemedicine is to ensure
comprehensive patient care – also across sector boundaries of the healthcare system – and to
improve quality. Tele-intensive care is already an evidence-based added value and addresses
current and future challenges such as resource shortage and citizen-centered care. The Virtual
Hospital NRW is a telemedical network structure that is unique in Germany. It provides
telemedical services from expert centers in a quality-assured and comprehensive manner for
general hospitals as well as for outpatient players. Telemedical services help to overcome
rigid sector boundaries and to optimize treatment processes. As a result,
service-differentiated care networks are goal-oriented. The medium-term perspective could be
cross-border network structures. Medical expertise and also intensive care data, both from
care and research, could thus be used throughout Europe. In October 2021, the Aachen Expert
Center reported on its first 112 telemedically co-managed COVID-19 patients as part of the
preliminary stage of the virtual hospital. With a lethality rate of 34.2% in the group of
ventilated severely ill COVID-19 patients and a transfer rate of 8%, high-quality care close
to the patient’s home was achieved through tele-intensive medical consultation
services.
Schlüsselwörter
Telemedizin - Versorgungsnetzwerk - digitale Medizin - Intensivmedizin - Covid-19
