Since October 2017, patients in Baden-Württemberg have been able to TeleClinic Get remote treatment. Consult a doctor via app, PC, or phone and receive a diagnosis or prescription—without necessarily having to visit a doctor's office beforehand or having direct doctor-patient contact. This medical service is also available outside of traditional doctor's office hours and on weekends. In addition to Barmenia and Debeka, ARAG Krankenversicherungs-AG now also covers the costs.
TeleClinic also enables those with statutory health insurance to receive remote treatment through cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in the docdirekt project.
Remote treatment soon also in Bavaria?
TeleClinic has been offering telemedicine consultations nationwide since 2016, with seven health insurance companies covering the costs to date. Four of these are statutory and three are private. Doctors outside of Baden-Württemberg are currently not permitted to provide remote treatment due to the prohibition on exclusively remote treatment stipulated in the model professional code. However, this could change in May, when the German Medical Association plans to decide on the so-called remote treatment ban. The startup issued the following statement in a press release:
"We are pleased that more and more people can take advantage of the benefits of telemedicine as an insurance benefit and that ARAG is on board with the Baden-Württemberg telemedicine project. Numerous health insurers, pharmacies, and doctors now rely on TeleClinic. This benefits patients, as they can easily consult doctors even outside of office hours and without waiting times."
TeleClinic combines technological and medical expertise
TeleClinic sees its own offering as a complement to the healthcare system:
"The digital doctor's visit is not intended to replace the physical doctor's visit, but it is a useful and beneficial addition for patients. Our expertise encompasses not only the data protection standards applicable in this country and the specifics of our healthcare system. TeleClinic is a certified medical device and combines technological and medical expertise. These assets are valued by our cooperation partners on the medical profession and the payers. We continue to pursue our vision of providing all patients in Germany with digital access to medical care so that they do not have to rely on providers from abroad."
