There's some radical initiatives on the horizon in two years within Germany, within the medical field. I noted this story via ARD (the public German network, Channel One).
The idea? You could call up your doctor from the house, with Skype, and get a consultation for some minor episode....like the flu, a cold, or some minor discomfort. The nurse would have your info on file (he's your local doctor), and later in the morning....he'd call you and do a quick two-minute check-up, and then issue a prescription.
The telemedicine prescription? It'd go quickly over to your local pharmacy (within just minutes). You'd walk over there and pick up (probably within fifteen minutes) after the call concludes.
The problem left here? Well...the Health Minister (Spahn) needs the health insurance companies to agree to the concept, and doctors have formulate a system to handle call reservations and call-backs.
My guess is that it'll be argued about for at least a year (maybe two), and it might be 2021 before this really starts to occur. Plus I think it'll be a listed group of conditions (probably less than twenty) that this call-deal and telemedicine routine would be appropriately blessed to work.
A positive for the public? I'm guessing that a number of folks are supporting the idea. To be honest though....the one big positive is that flu-folks won't be sitting around in some waiting room and coughing on you during flu-season. For me, that's really a five-star plus-up.
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