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The young mother is reassured by the dermatologist during the video chat: The red pustules on her child's cheek are harmless.
The diabetic feels safe because he regularly records and checks his data in a smart health platform.
The manager with back pain also books one with his orthopedic surgeon between two online appointments to discuss his health on the screen.
All of this is already happening under German roofs and shows the many facets of telemedicine.
Patients should not be cared for anonymously using technical devices: "The terms telemedicine or eHealth describe all areas of medicine in which a new means of communication is used in the exchange between doctor and patient", explains Professor Florian Limbourg, coordinator of hypertension (high blood pressure) -Center of the Clinic for Kidney and Hypertension Diseases at the Hannover Medical School.
For him, advice on the phone is an essential part of this in addition to the video consultation.
The many corona infections ensure that people are more open to having their therapy checked or adjusted remotely.
The number of providers is increasing
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Every eighth German (13 percent) has already attended a video consultation, and twelve percent say they want to use this offer again.
Only one percent does not want to.
This is the result of current surveys by the market research institute Bitkom Research on behalf of the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media.
The number of certified providers is increasing - from eleven in 2018 to currently 44 according to the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV).
Doctors can purchase the technology and train their staff with funding from federal and state ministries.
"Telemedical care can be useful for older people in rural areas, where there are fewer and fewer doctors and long distances to the practices have to be mastered," says Florian Limbourg.
For him, the treatment of high blood pressure is a good example of how processes can be supported by technical aids: The patient systematically collects blood pressure values or information on heart rate, for example.
The values are recorded in a digital blood pressure diary or by a certified app.
The patient is instructed how to use the app and manage his illness.
Consultation hours on the tablet: Telemedicine can be of great help, especially for older people.
Source: picture alliance / dpa / dpa-Zentral
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"A digital coach guides you through all the elements and explains how best to measure at home," says Limbourg.
It is also conceivable that the values can be sent to the practice by radio via telemetric blood pressure monitors.
“However, such devices are not always paid for by health insurance companies,” says the high blood pressure expert.
Digitally supported coaching
The information is securely stored in a database that the doctor or therapist can access.
The practitioner does not have to spend a lot of time preparing it, but can calmly discuss with the patient how the therapy should develop in order to achieve certain health goals, such as more exercise or weight loss.
A health coach supports the implementation of agreed measures as part of a telemedical program, such as the one offered by Thieme TeleCare.
“We accompany the patient individually by designing the digitally supported coaching according to their illnesses.
We can deal with 15 of the most common diseases, from diabetes to pain disorders to fatty liver.
Multimorbid patients in particular benefit from this, ”says Wolfgang Weber, Managing Director of Thieme TeleCare.
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The coaching runs for around twelve months in consultation with the health insurance company and can be extended if necessary.
A study by the Berlin Charité already showed success more than two years ago: Thanks to telemedical advice, people with cardiac insufficiency were less likely to be admitted to hospital unplanned.
The experts also found a lower mortality rate.
Consultation hours via smartphone or tablet
Roland Tenbrock has not only valued online consultation for more than four years in everyday practice, he also trains colleagues.
The Düsseldorf orthopedic surgeon is involved in the development of the “sprechstunde.online” service from Deutsche Arzt AG: “I offer this service to my patients who trust me.
This works independently of the practice software via smartphone or tablet, only with a good internet connection. "
The patients receive an appointment with an access code by e-mail or text message and they can start directly via a link: For example, Roland Tenbrock discusses an inability to work or checks the results of an operation on his screen.
“We experienced doctors can see whether someone is seriously ill and should be in the hospital.
Is he breathing heavily, is his complexion ashen? ”Roland Tenbrock takes time for the anamnesis, that is, the clarifying discussion about the symptoms of the disease.
The health insurance companies are also following the trend - and are important partners for providers such as Teleclinic, which started a pilot project with the AOK Rheinland / Hamburg in the spring: Families who live in the Lower Rhine region can get advice around the clock via video chat leave when the offspring is ailing.
The health insurance pays the costs that you would otherwise have to bear privately in these cases.
"Almost 800 insured persons have registered so far and the feedback has been so positive that we have now expanded the project to include neighboring districts and cities," says Maurice Bröhl from AOK Rheinland / Hamburg.
General practitioners and specialists should not be ousted
The advice from doctors, which can be switched on nationwide via the Teleclinic app, should, according to him, represent a useful supplementary offer on site and not replace the general practitioner or specialist in the Lower Rhine region.
This will deal with further if necessary.
So that the door and gate are not opened for medical call centers without the involvement of the on-site practices, the statutory insurance companies have limited the total number of digital doctor-patient contacts to 30 percent.
In Roland Tenbrock's experience, there are nevertheless more international providers such as the UK-based company Zava, which is increasingly integrating general practitioners into its telemedicine solutions.
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Midwives, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and especially psychotherapists now also use the on-screen consultation.
Orthopedist Tenbrock has already switched colleagues from other departments to therapy conferences with the patient.
The surgeon from the hospital can also be involved in this before an operation.
Patients should manage the disease themselves
A tendency that, in his opinion, will increase: "Better and better services can be offered digitally, therapists as well as pain medication or aids such as therapy bands for training." According to Wolfgang Weber, Thieme TeleCare is further developing its telemedical offers: Patients should be given even more intensive support will be able to manage their illness themselves with specific exercises.
Katharina Jünger, managing director of Teleclinic, would like to further simplify the operation of her app so that booking or postponing appointments is automated.
Jünger: "In the future, we want to issue digital cash register prescriptions and advise the chronically ill who receive our app on prescription."
It will be exciting at the beginning of 2021: All data that is now also collected online - prescriptions, sick notes or letters with treatment recommendations - should now be included in the electronic patient file (EPA).
So that the doctors keep track of every step in the treatment with the patient.