Benedikt Seelhorst would not have thought it possible that he would one day become a seat worker himself.

The 30-year-old physiotherapist no longer has to leave the house to get to work.

He, too, has set up his home office in recent years and looks after patients from his desk.

His everyday work has become less active.

But its working radius is larger.

Seelhorst, who lives and works in northern Germany, cares for patients throughout the country - including in Hesse.

Marie Lisa Kehler

Deputy head of the regional section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

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He works for the company Herodikos, which has developed an app that promises to help patients with back and knee pain.

In the app, users receive an individual training plan.

Physiotherapists like the 30-year-old Seelhorst contact the patients at regular intervals to support the therapy.

Some health insurance companies, including Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) and AOK, for example, will cover the costs for such an app if a doctor prescribes the training.

There are many examples like this.

At the so-called eHealth Congress this Wednesday in the rooms of the IHK Frankfurt, the latest developments in the field of digitization in the healthcare sector will once again be presented.

The Techniker Krankenkasse Hessen invites you to the exchange together with the health industry Rhein-Main, the Ministry of Social Affairs Hessen and the IHK Hessen.

On this day, start-ups from the medical field should be given the opportunity to introduce themselves.

However, the possibilities of digitization in care should also be discussed.

In addition, Susanne Ozegowski, the new head of the "Digitization and Innovation" department at the Federal Ministry of Health, will provide an insight into the eHealth projects of the federal government.

Specialized apps complement the work of doctors and therapists

The topic of digitization in medicine has gained in importance, especially during the corona pandemic.

The number of doctors and psychotherapists who have used the possibility of video consultations has increased many times over during this time.

According to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, almost 5,900 doctors and therapists in Hesse are currently using it.

Probably also because the willingness of patients to engage in such often complementary offers has increased.

Digitization in medicine offers many more possibilities than just making it easier to get in touch with the patient.

Specialized apps, which are recognized by the Federal Office for Drugs and Medical Devices and are also paid for by health insurance companies, are already supplementing the work of doctors and therapists.

The Office lists more than 30 of these apps on its website.

A large number of other applications, such as those for which physiotherapist Seelhorst works, are not yet officially recognized as medical products, but are already supported by individual health insurance companies.

Seelhorst will also give a lecture at the congress on his work, the possibilities of digitally supported therapy, but also its limits.

Sometimes, he says, he still has the impulse to touch patients to correct them during an exercise.

He had to learn to communicate even more clearly and to give real stage directions.

For example when it comes to camera work.

If an exercise is done on the floor but the camera is filming the ceiling, he has to intervene.

People are increasingly becoming collectors of their health data

In the video consultation hours, however, it is only in exceptional cases that the patients do exercises in front of the camera.

The digital meetings should be understood more as consultation appointments.

Sometimes, when the patients state that they have motivation problems, it can also be follow-up appointments.

Because the app records whether the training plan was followed.

If an exercise is repeatedly skipped or if plans are not completed, the digital physiotherapists can quickly follow up, explains Seelhorst.

According to Barbara Voß, Head of the TK State Representation Hesse, apps in medicine will not replace the care provided by doctors or therapists, but will change the interaction with patients and complement medical and therapeutic work.

She observes that many people are already recording health data - for example by wearing a so-called smartwatch, which, for example, measures the pulse or records movement data.

According to a TK survey from 2021, in which more than 2000 people took part, there is an increasing willingness to make the health and fitness data obtained available for medical research.

Three out of four respondents stated that this was useful.

Voss recognizes a trend in this.

She is certain that people are increasingly becoming collectors of their own health data.

"Perspectively, it could happen that people first have an app evaluate their data and have a preliminary diagnosis made before they see a doctor."

More information about the eHealth Congress is available online at gesundheitswirtschaft-rhein-main.de/Veranstaltungen