The German Stroke Society (DSG) is campaigning for teleneurological healthcare in Germany and is calling for new funding concepts in the field of tele-neurology, because this area is not uniformly financially regulated and the network situation in this country is considered to be undersupplied in terms of costs. There are now 20 telemedical networks and 200 connected neurological clinics in Germany, which not only cooperate in acute cases and thus achieve success.
Every tenth stroke patient is now cared for by telemedicine, regardless of whether he or she has just suffered a stroke and needs to be clarified as to whether the blood clot needs to be dissolved or removed; the experts at specialized stroke centers (stroke units) are also called upon in the case of transfers and rehabilitation measures in order to be able to make decisions in the case of diagnosis and therapy. The specialists in the specialized centers have plenty of expertise, because time is a crucial factor in a stroke.
Tele-neurology is used in ten percent of all strokes, providing care for more than 100 affected people a day when treating physicians need help via video.
Tele-neurological care has become an indispensable part of stroke patient care and can also save lives, explains Christoph Gumbinger, spokesman for the DSG’s Telemedical Stroke Care Commission. Therefore, political measures are more in demand than ever.
Source: www.aerzteblatt.de