Opportunities of Telemedicine for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery

Abstract

Today telemedicine, or eHealth, is an important tool in everyday medical life. In all areas, from the preclinical to aftercare, significant improvements in communication structures have been seen in various eHealth options, which have had significant, positive effects on the quality of patient care in orthopedics and trauma surgery. Initially, there were several isolated solutions and many small individual projects; however, there was a lack of interdisciplinary and comprehensive systems in all healthcare fields. The German Trauma Society (DGU) together with the AUC GmbH took the lead and paved the way for a modulated, comprehensive, interface-compatible teleradiology system. Nevertheless, there are still deficits across all sectors which, in the future, will need to be optimized by eHealth methods and systems. Overall, there is an effort towards patient-centered solutions (patient empowerment). In Germany, telemedicine has gradually gained acceptance in various sectors and is being used nationwide. Telemedicine has proven itself, especially in trauma networks.

Keywords

• telemedicine
• teleradiology
• ehealth
• orthopaedics
• trauma surgery
• patient care
• patient participation