Health - Pediatric video consultation in all parts of the country
Parents of sick children can now make use of a pediatric video consultation in all parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Westfalen-Lippe (KVWL) has been offering this service since the beginning of November. The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein (KVNo) launched the pediatric video consultation this Saturday.
The aim is to give parents of sick children the opportunity to get advice via a single telephone number, especially during certain off-peak times, at weekends and on public holidays. The services are also intended to relieve the pressure on pediatricians' practices, outpatient emergency service practices and hospital emergency departments.
At KVWL, around 50 doctors have expressed their interest or have already agreed to provide services as part of the pediatric video consultation service, which is planned to run until April 1, 2024. At KVNo, 26 pediatricians are involved in the implementation of the video consultation, which is scheduled to run until January 31, 2024. This would mean that a total of around 960 doctor hours would be available.
KVWL's video consultation hours are offered Monday to Friday from 6 to 9 pm and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 to 6 pm. Parents who wish to use this service should call the medical on-call service on 116 117 (without area code), explained a spokesperson. First of all, medically trained staff on 116 117 will carry out a thorough initial assessment.
"Depending on the symptoms and urgency, KVWL staff will then refer parents with children who are eligible for a video consultation to the virtual waiting room," explained the spokesperson. Parents receive the access link by text message or email. Participants would have to agree to the use of the camera and microphone in their Internet browser. The health insurance card is also required.
KVNo's video consultation hours take place on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays - including Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve - from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. There are two ways for parents to make an appointment with KVNo: Via the homepage www.kvno.de/kinder or by calling 116 117, where families from the Rhineland are automatically forwarded to the KVNo center according to their place of residence, a spokesperson said.
Interested parties will be sent an appointment link once their contact details have been recorded, the spokesperson added. Here too, parents must have their children's health insurance card to hand. KVNo recommends a quiet environment for the video consultation, preferably without other people present. If a cell phone is used instead of a PC, laptop or tablet, it should be set up.
KVNo can draw on experience from a pilot project around the turn of the year 2022/2023. Numerous paediatric practices and children's wards were overcrowded at the time. "With almost 2,400 video consultations carried out, we had an interesting result - because almost half of the parents no longer had to take their child to an emergency practice afterwards and were thus able to save themselves and their little ones a lot of stress," said the spokesperson in retrospect.
The KVNo now expects the pediatric practices to be very busy again in the winter months when the waves of infections pass.
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- The pediatric video consultation service is available throughout North Rhine-Westphalia, which is a part of the country known as Germany.
- Parents of sick children in the north rhine region can utilize this service, which is operated by the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein (KVNo).
- On Saturdays, the KVNo in Düsseldorf offers video consultations for children, joining the KVWL in North Rhine-Westphalia, which started providing this service earlier in North Rhine-westphalia.
- The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in North Rhine-Westphalia (KVWL) sees around 50 pediatricians participating in its video consultation service, relieving pressure on hospitals in cities like Dortmund.
- KVNo's video consultation hours for children take place on Wednesdays and weekends, including holidays, allowing parents to schedule appointments via their website or by calling 116 117.
- During the pilot project in the north-west region of Germany, almost 2,400 video consultations occurred, and half of the parents no longer needed to take their children to an emergency practice, thereby saving them stress.
Source: www.stern.de
