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How telemedicine is used in healthcare today

Possible applications of telemedicine models from hospital to outpatient care

In short: In this article you will find...

  • An overview of current telemedicine models in hospitals, medical care centers (MVZ) and outpatient care
  • A description of where these models are used today and how far they have developed
  • Orientation for the classification of telemedicine approaches in everyday care

Model

Patient contact

Benefits for healthcare

synchronous

access & comfort

continuous

prevention & aftercare

mostly asynchronous

expertise & quality

asynchronous

efficiency

hybrid

continuity of care

hybrid

Control system

indirectly

resource security

Staff shortages, rising case numbers and increasing economic pressure characterize everyday life in clinics and MVZs. At the same time, patients' expectations of modern, digital healthcare are growing. Existing care structures are therefore increasingly reaching their limits.

Telemedicine services are a possible lever for organizing care more efficiently and making medical expertise more readily available. They include various models, some of which are already being used in clinical practice today.

This article provides a structured overview of established and emerging telemedicine models and shows what role they will play in the collaboration between hospitals and patients in the future.

Telemedicine market segments in Europe

  • Services as the largest segment (~60 %)
  • Tele-cardiology as the leading application (~25 %)
  • Cloud as the preferred form of provision
  • Hospitals as the central user group

1. Enabling medical consultations regardless of location: Video consultation

Graphic depicts a video consultation with medical professionals viewed on a cell phone; Coypright: beta-web GmbH

Live medical consultations via video between patients and medical professionals, both on an outpatient basis and in preparation for and after inpatient stays.

Typical application scenarios

  • Initial and follow-up consultations
  • Discussions of findings
  • Psychotherapy & psychosomatic care

Why is the video consultation relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Video consultations are one of the most technologically advanced telemedicine models. They are widely available, can be integrated into existing care structures and enable location-independent medical consultations for various care situations.

2. Ensuring care beyond the hospital stay: telemonitoring

Graphic shows telemedical connected devices for measuring health status and a person in a white coat next to them; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Continuous or periodic recording of medical vital data (e.g. blood pressure, weight, glucose, heart rate) from the home environment, transmitted digitally to the hospital or clinic.

Typical application scenarios

  • Chronic diseases (heart failure, diabetes, COPD)
  • Post-inpatient monitoring
  • Early detection of deterioration

Why is telemonitoring relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Remote monitoring helps to provide patients with structured support beyond their inpatient stay. Hospitals can detect deterioration at an early stage, reduce re-hospitalizations and improve the quality of medical treatment. At the same time, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) supports better utilization management of scarce stationary resources.

3. Utilizing medical expertise across locations: Teleconsultations

Two medical professionals communicate with each other online as part of telemedicine care; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Digital specialist consultation between medical facilities or doctors often asynchronously (e.g. via platforms with image and findings transmission).

Typical application scenarios

  • Radiology & pathology
  • Intensive care and stroke medicine
  • Care in rural areas

Why are teleconsultations relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Teleconsultations ensure specialist medical expertise regardless of location. Smaller hospitals and MVZs in particular benefit from making specialized decisions available more quickly, avoiding transport costs and increasing the quality of treatment without having to maintain their own specialist staff.

4. Efficient digital mapping of diagnostic processes: Telediagnostics

Graphic shows digitally transmitted health data that can be used for telediagnostics; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Diagnostic services based on digitally transmitted data, images or measured values, often without simultaneous patient contact.

Typical application scenarios

  • Diagnosis of image material (e.g. dermatology, radiology)
  • Evaluation of EKG or sleep data
  • AI-supported preliminary findings with medical supervision

Why is telediagnostics relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Telediagnostics increases the efficiency and throughput speed of diagnostic processes. Findings can be centralized, workloads better distributed and specialists relieved of specific tasks. For clinics, this means shorter waiting times, optimized processes and better use of existing expertise.

5. Structured and digital aftercare: Digital aftercare

With the help of the collected health data, follow-up care can be carried out digitally; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Structured digital support for patients following inpatient or outpatient procedures, often combined with questionnaires, video appointments and monitoring.

Typical application scenarios

  • Orthopaedics & surgery
  • Oncological aftercare
  • Rehabilitation

Why is digital aftercare relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Digital aftercare creates continuity of care beyond discharge. Clinics can detect complications earlier, structure queries and increase patient satisfaction. At the same time, aftercare processes can be standardized and scaled to save resources.

6. Managing access to care efficiently: teletriage

Through connected administration, teletriage enables patients to be directed to suitable care services in a targeted manner; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Digital pre-assessment of complaints, often using structured queries or hybrid models (algorithm + healthcare professionals).

Typical application scenarios

  • Emergency room triage
  • Appointment management
  • Management of appropriate care levels

Why is teletriage relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Teletriage supports the targeted management of patients to suitable care services. Clinics benefit from relieved emergency departments, better plannable capacities and more efficient processes, especially when there are high patient volumes and staff shortages.

7. Supporting inpatient care with telemedicine: telemedical care

Telemedicine support helps to make expertise centrally available and usable; Copyright: beta-web GmbH

Centralized telemedical support for wards, for example through tele-ICUs or telemedically connected special teams.

Typical application scenarios

  • Intensive care medicine
  • Stroke units
  • Night or weekend services

Why is telemedical care relevant for clinics & MVZs?

Telemedical care makes it easier to provide specialized expertise centrally and make it available across multiple locations. Clinics can thus ensure quality of care, cushion staff shortages and organize complex care structures more economically.

Telemedicine as a response to structural challenges

Telemedicine is not a single tool, but a modular system. The strategic added value arises where several models are combined in a meaningful way adapted to the specific specialists' environments, care mandate and digital maturity of the organization. The question is not so much whether, but how can telemedicine be sustainably integrated into existing processes.

Classifying telemedicine in Europe: Current market development

  • Germany is one of the leading telemedicine markets in Europe due to regulatory openings and a comparatively advanced digital healthcare infrastructure.
  • Scandinavian countries (e.g. Denmark, Sweden, Finland) have had well-developed digital healthcare infrastructures for years, including comprehensive electronic patient records and central healthcare platforms that support the use of telemedicine applications.
  • The United Kingdom is experiencing dynamic growth, driven by national telehealth initiatives and an active digital health startup scene.
  • France shows continuous telemedicine adoption, especially in the care of chronically ill and elderly people.
  • Italy and Spain are developing into emerging markets with increasing digitalization and government investment.
  • Other European countries are expanding telemedicine services, particularly to secure care in rural and structurally weaker regions.

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Author: Melanie Prüser | Editorial team MEDICA-tradefair.com

Melanie Prüser has been writing about the exciting interface between medicine and technology for MEDICA-tradefair.com since 2019. She is always on the lookout for the stories behind devices and applications to show how innovations directly change the everyday lives of medical professionals and patients.

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