Telemedizin in der mobilen geriatrischen Rehabilitation: Ergebnisse der VITAAL-Studie

BACKGROUND: In order to implement the principle of rehabilitation before care, adaptive concepts for geriatric patients are required. Patients with visual impairments, impaired communication skills, mental illnesses or cognitive deficits are often not or only insufficiently treatable in a rehabilitation clinic. Mobile geriatric rehabilitation (MoGeRe) closes this gap in the care system, but its scope is limited. With the 22 locations in Germany, it is not possible to make a comprehensive MoGeRe possible so far. Telemedicine offers solutions here. OBJECTIVE: Telemedicine supplements to MoGeRe in the form of video visits and video recording were examined with respect to their feasibility and acceptance in a very old target group. METHOD: A total of 101 video visits and 26 diagnostic video recordings were carried out with 25 patients. Interviews with patients and team members were evaluated with the help of a qualitative content analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In particular, the acceptance of the video visit was high among all those involved. Its potential lies in the adaptation of the individual treatment, motivation, medical guidance and supervision of the team. The video recording can offer the opportunity to enrich the interdisciplinary exchange and to evaluate and adapt the therapeutic procedure. Specific strategies such as accompanying relatives, explaining the procedure and good timing are necessary for cognitively impaired patients. Our results prove that older people should also be taken into account as users of digital media.