At this year's TeleHealth exhibition and conference, which for the first time is fully integrated into the annual trade show CeBIT, diabetics will be transformed into cyber-patients, our own beds into wireless sleep laboratories, and the doctor's practice into a high-tech communications centre. Over two days, 7 and 8 March 2008, the TeleHealth show-within-a-show in Hall 8 will focus on telemedicine processes in healthcare and the latest eHealth solutions. As well as a varied and interesting congress program made up of scientific lectures, corporate presentations, workshops and symposia, the visitor will find a range of networking opportunities and an extensive exhibition all under one roof.
Digital blood sugar diary
For diabetics, the tedious business of logging blood sugar levels by hand in a diary will soon be at an end. At the stand of telehealth company BodyTel (Stand B35) visitors can see "GlucoTel" in action a new system that makes child's play of diabetes management. The blood glucose meter connects wirelessly with the patient's mobile phone, which automatically transmits the blood sugar readings to an online database. Just another electronic gizmo? Absolutely not: via the Internet patients can give their doctor direct access to their blood sugar readings, and seek his advice if they are concerned. And they can do it any time and any place at home, on a business trip or on holiday.
Wireless sleep laboratory
Wireless technology is also the key to progress at the stand of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (Stand B13). Not for diabetics in this case, but for sufferers from so-called "sleep apnoea syndrome". Hitherto these patients have had to travel to a specialized sleep laboratory to be diagnosed, where they get wired up with dozens of sensors and have to stay in bed for up to two days. The Fraunhofer Institute's "Sleep-Bee" prototype for a multi-sensor sleep monitoring system for outpatients shows that there is another way, with wireless technology spelling the end of all those cumbersome cables. And because this makes the whole system so much simpler to operate, patients can carry out the tests at home, in the comfort of their own beds.
With electronic patient files doctors are always fully up to date
Measured values are not everything. In an age when chronic disease is becoming increasingly common, all the agencies involved in patient care need to work together closely. They are greatly helped in this by electronic patient files, which are a major focus of this year's TeleHealth. An example is the "vita-X" solution from CompuGROUP (Stand B06), a chip card that allows the patient to give his doctors access to personal medical data. And in a scheme currently being piloted in two DocMorris pharmacies in Cologne, patients can also call up their own personal medical records on special computer terminals. A related innovation unveiled at this year's TeleHealth is "simplify vita-X", a solution that uploads web-based files and integrates them fully into the computer databases of doctors. In this way doctors can access the findings of their medical colleagues just as easily as their own literally at the touch of a button.
Meanwhile eHealth specialist InterComponentWare is bringing its "LifeSensor" product to the show (Stand B15). This is a web-based electronic patient file which patients themselves can access on their own PC or even more conveniently on their iPhone. At TeleHealth visitors can watch a demonstration sequence, in which a patient progresses from his general practitioner to a consultant and finally to the hospital. All the relevant documents can be accessed by each doctor in the sequence through their own information systems, thereby eliminating unnecessary hold-ups in the treatment of patients.
The electronic health card goes on house calls
To ensure that data protection requirements are fully met, the German government is planning to introduce the electronic health card in the spring of 2008, which gives access to electronic patient files and telemedicine services of all kinds. In charge of project implementation is the operating company gematik Gesellschaft für Telematikanwendungen der Gesundheitskarte (Stand B37). It is using TeleHealth for the first time as a platform to tell the public about the current status of the project. So visitors to this year's TeleHealth will be able to see for themselves how in future electronic prescriptions will be exchanged between doctors and pharmacists, how health insurance organizations can update their clients' data electronically, and how doctors can enjoy the convenience of "signing" documents via biometric fingerprinting. And unveiled to the public for the very first time is a new mobile scenario, in which gematik shows how the electronic health card can help doctors to deliver a better service on their house calls.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.telehealth.de
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