04.10.2018 by Pamela Buchwald

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What does the future of medicine look like? How can we better connect patients, doctors and caregivers? And what infrastructure will they need to achieve this? Representatives from Deutsche Telekom discussed these topics and much more with partners, business leaders and healthcare experts including Eckart von Hirschhausen.

Open up and say: “Ah!” Anyone visiting their doctor for a sore throat or another ailment soon will no longer have to leave their sickbed. Companies like the Israel’s Tytocare have developed devices allowing patients to measure their pulse and temperature from the comfort of their own homes. They can even take pictures of a patient’s throat or skin. In just a few clicks all the information is sent straight to their doctor’s computer. Hopefully this means crowded waiting rooms with lots of coughing and sniffing people will soon be a thing of the past.  

NETWORKING FOR HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS

Telemedicine and more: That was the focus at the Telekom Design Gallery in the city of Bonn. Deutsche Telekom and the cross-sector business network New Healthcare Puzzle invited participants to an event carrying the motto: “Experience the Internet of medical things.” Klaus Suwelack from pharmaceutical producer and network initiator Janssen Deutschland explained the motivation behind it all: “We created this network in 2014 in order to develop holistic, innovative healthcare solutions together. The patient’s wellbeing always stands at the core of our efforts.” Besides Deutsche Telekom, other members of the network include, SAP, Arvato, Philips and Johnson&Johnson.  

FROM DIGITAL PATIENT FILES TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

“We want to drive networking in the healthcare sector forward. It fits perfectly with Deutsche Telekom’s strategy,” said Mark Düsener, Senior Vice President Healthcare Solutions at T-Systems, as he spoke to around 100 guests from politics, healthcare, research and business communities. The focus was primarily on the necessary digital infrastructure, telemedicine and the Internet of medical things. The company already announced its first solutions developed in cooperation with Sony Mobile during the healthcare IT trade fair conhlT back in April 2018. Nino Mangiapane, head of the German Health Ministry’s e-health initiative, presented the government’s digital agenda for the healthcare sector. He mentioned a digital patient file, digital access to applications and data, as well as using both Big Data and artificial intelligence in healthcare. “The telematic infrastructure is the keystone to securely connecting the healthcare system,” said Mangiapane.  

“DECIDE TODAY THE KIND OF TREATMENT WE’D LIKE TOMORROW”

Some 85 percent of all Germans are prepared to give their doctor access to their heath data, Matthieu-P. Schapranow from the Hasso Plattner Institute told the audience before emphasizing the importance of data collection for the entire healthcare system. “We must decide today, the kind of treatment we’d like tomorrow,” said Schapranow. Christoph Meyer-Delpho, Senior Business Development Manager Digital Health at T-Systems took that idea one step further: “We finally have to stop accepting the backwardness of the German health system when it comes to digitization.”  

The last speaker, Eckhart von Hirschhausen, drew on his wide-ranging experience as a physician, cabaret artist, TV host and founder of a foundation using humor to heal. “Digitization presents an opportunity to finally network those people caring for a patient in a meaningful way,” said Hirschhausen. “That happens today in only a very limited fashion.”