The technologies serve to overcome spatial and temporal distance and enable communication and exchange between different parties. In the private sphere, the use of digital communication is now commonplace; now the application is to be integrated into healthcare processes as well.

Remedy through telemedicine

For a long time now, the goal has been to create digital networking between the various players, such as between the specialist and the general practitioner, and in this course to ensure better healthcare. For example, by using teleradiology, smaller facilities do not have to have their own radiologist on site during night and weekend service and can save costs.

The shortage of healthcare professionals is becoming increasingly apparent - nurses are reaching their limits and accumulating a lot of overtime, and in emergency departments patients have to spend several hours in the waiting room. In private practice, it often takes several weeks to present oneself to a doctor, and doctors, some of whom have to work 24-hour shifts, are reaching their limits.

With the help of new technologies, various processes such as medication blistering are to be automated in order to create new freedom for healthcare professionals. Healthcare involves many players: nurses, doctors, insurers, service providers and many more who need to communicate with each other, but currently decentralized networking is still surrounded by challenges. Professionals need to be trained in the use of technology and be familiar with the various tools designed to simplify their daily work and create better connectivity. Via a video consultation, the physician can see and hear the patient, but no haptic examination can take place. The specialists learn in various training courses what alternatives there are and to what extent the doctor has to act differently via digital tools than he or she is used to.

In any case, data protection, which is subject to very strict regulations as a result of the new General Data Protection Regulation, especially in the course of digitization, is a major challenge. However, digitization also holds opportunities for the healthcare industry with enormous potential.

From the prevention of diseases through wearables and fitness apps to the use of robotics in acute situations. Many service providers in the healthcare industry work shifts and are therefore difficult to reach, which makes telephone communication very difficult. The use of teleconsultation and simplified processes can save costs and allow scarce resources to be used elsewhere. In this area, digital communication should provide a remedy and ensure networked healthcare.

Networked healthcare

To ensure optimal health care for the population, it is necessary for the various institutions to work together. This interaction requires intensive and continuous communication between all players.

With the progress of digitalization, the exchange of information is increasingly taking place via the Internet. However, healthcare involves highly sensitive and personal data, so special security precautions must be taken to prevent confidential patient data from leaking out to the public. Many software installations are stored with multiple passwords and each person is individually authorized so that accurate tracing can be performed in the event of misuse.

And the various communication relationships must also be compatible with each other, so that specialists can communicate with each other, but communication can also take place between the doctor and the rehab team or with the insurance company. These requirements have given rise to Internet-based medical networks. These have the goal of further increasing the quality of care through increased exchange. In addition, the patient is to be further involved and thus his personal responsibility is to be strengthened. New forms of treatment are to be created through better networking of the various lead providers.

Pioneer teleradiology

New technical applications are already a reality in healthcare in Germany and are used with varying intensity depending on the specialty. The aim of their use is to design efficient healthcare and close gaps in care. Radiology in particular is considered a pioneer of digitization. The field of teleradiology is already well developed and shows the potential of telemedicine. Large amounts of data have to be transmitted and many individual images have to form an overall picture. With today's technology, fast data transmission can be realized in a few seconds and image files can be forwarded directly to the specialist staff. Even smaller facilities can offer radiological examinations to patients even though there is no specialist on site, because teleradiology enables the transmission of radiological image material to another facility with the necessary specialist personnel.

Many specialties are taking their cue from teleradiology and are also trying to integrate the new technologies into their everyday work, thus creating networked healthcare within the framework of digital communication.

Digital networking is a central goal of telemedicine. Digital communication is intended to increase efficiency and quality in healthcare and to make productive use of scarce resources.

Author: Nadja Müller, student of health economics at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigshafen and intern at NEXUS / CHILI GmbH.