TK and Bosch start telemedicine project ‚COPD‘

Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) will improve the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with the help of the Health Buddy from company Robert Bosch Healthcare.

This will allow TK to supply devices for up to 300 COPD patients in Deutschland.

Over a period of two years, TK members will answer questions about well-being every morning by means of four buttons, and measure their blood oxygen levels and pulse through a ‚clip on the finger‘ . The data will then be transmitted to a telemedicine centre in Stuttgart and monitored by professionals. The aim is to reduce preventable hospitalisation.

Commentary: Even if the project is a success for Bosch and the supply to COPD patients is improved, in the field of telemedicine it is just another flagship project. Now that these beacons have been established, the different fields of interest must be reconciled: on the one hand there is the health insurance and the Gemeinsamen Bundesausschuss, which require proof of effectiveness. On the other, we have patients and the industry itself, who require wider use of these market-ready technologies. Thus, a solution in the next few years remains unclear. The open question is, which strategy should each player pursue?

[ilink url=“http://www.tk.de/tk/pressemitteilungen/gesundheit-und-service/464924″]Link zur Quelle (TK Pressemitteilung)[/ilink]