In recent years, the healthcare sector has undergone significant changes: demographic shifts are placing increasing strain on nursing staff, while medical care is undergoing continuous transformation as a result of digitalization. In order to meet the challenges posed by these developments and take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization, the Naemi Wilke Foundation has decided to implement teleconsultations in its on-call service.
Especially in rural areas like the small town of Guben, where the Naemi Wilke Stift is based, telemedicine has a lot of potential to improve healthcare and make it more accessible for people.
When TeleDoc-Mobile was introduced, employees were initially skeptical. Many wondered whether the new technology could actually be implemented in everyday work. But with patience and determination, the hospital took a step into the future.
Initially, only one TeleDoc Mobile was implemented, but just six months later, a second device followed. This rapid development required not only technical adjustments, but also comprehensive training for employees. Therefore, three team members from the hospital traveled to the Docs in Clouds office to be trained as “TeleDoc trainers.” There, they received detailed training so that they could competently instruct new staff in the use of telemedicine.
In TeleDoc training courses, it is common practice to first train employees who are open to the topic of telemedicine. Employees who are skeptical about the whole thing can then be convinced through practical application and trained at a later date.
However, the Naemi-Wilke-Stift chose a bolder approach. They trained all doctors and nurses directly – both those in the front-line service and those in the on-call service. The idea behind this comprehensive training was to transform the on-call duty into a standby service, in which the professionals are available via telemedicine.
An additional opportunity offered to hospitals by the implementation of telemedicine is the so-called “hospital-at-home” strategy. This approach makes it possible to discharge patients from hospital earlier, as they can continue to receive telemedical care at home. This not only contributes to improving patients’ quality of life, but also reduces the workload for hospital staff.
Since the end of 2023, the on-call service at the Naemi Wilke Foundation has been supplemented by teleconsultations. Between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., general medical and internal medicine expertise is usually sufficient in the emergency room. During this time, additional specialists are at home and available for teleconsultations on call.
But it is not only the emergency room that has benefited from the foundation’s new technology. In their daily work, doctors on site can also consult a background physician to obtain a second opinion. This has proven particularly helpful in rare cases where specific expertise is required.
This concept enables the hospital to deploy its staff in a targeted and efficient manner. This not only increases operational efficiency, but also saves costs that can now be used elsewhere.
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