[Legal considerations of telemedical care]

[Legal aspects of telemedicine in cardiology in Germany]

Since 2016, quarterly telemedical remote monitoring of patients with an implanted defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) system is part of the Einheitlichen Bewertungsmaßstab (EBM, physician's fee schedule) and is the first telemedical service to be reimbursed in German cardiology. Many publications like the TIM-HF2 or the InTime trial have shown a significant benefit for different endpoints in patients with advanced heart failure. Therefore, the German Society of Cardiology (DGK) has published different recommendations that emphasize an obvious indication of telemedical care with daily control of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) information, parameters like blood pressure and weight, and telemedical counselling of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. This recommendation is also part of the guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published in 2021. It has a level IIb for patients with heart failure. In December 2020 the "Gemeinsame Bundesausschuss" (G-BA) decided to accept telemonitoring as a diagnostic tool and treatment option for patients with heart failure. This service of physicians became part of the EBM and ever since may be offered to patients. This development is accompanied with many questions regarding a physician's accountability, protection of data privacy, and also regarding the structures given by the G‑BA and the "Kassenärztlichen Vereinigungen" (KV). Thus, this paper tries to give an overview of these topics. It will also provide a critical discussion of these structures and their legal foundation because there are many constraints that need to be taken into consideration as a cardiologist. These constraints may ultimately hinder the expansion of this service to patients in Germany.

[Present and future relevance of telemedicine in cardiac arrhythmia emergencies]

BACKGROUND

The use of remote monitoring has increased due to recently published randomised studies. However, its benefit during acute rhythm disorders still remains controversial.

OBJECTIVES

The current review describes the current status and highlights possible application of telemedicine during acute rhythm disorders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The prerequisites, structural properties of the sender/patient and the receiver of the data/physician are examined and the results of the current literature are presented.

RESULTS

Telemedicine during emergency rhythm disorders are normally reserved for specific scenarios. The lack of 24/7 staff of the receiver/hospital represents the main barrier.

CONCLUSIONS

Remote medicine in the current form is not yet ready to be implemented for acute rhythm disorders. Expansion of currently existing chest pain units (CPUs) might enable this 24/7 service in the near future.

[Telemonitoring of implanted cardiac devices : Clinical necessity or senseless luxury?]

In addition to the telemedical follow-up at a fixed point in time, there is the possibility of a close-meshed telemetric monitoring in modern devices. By transferring device and patient-specific data, errors in the integrity of the device or electrodes and cardiac arrhythmias can be detected early, in various studies significantly reducing the number of outpatient or inpatient visits and the rate of inadequate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapies. Measurement of various surrogate parameters allows better clinical assessment of heart failure patients, yet no improvement in outcome with therapy guided by telemetric data has been demonstrated. Retrospective analyzes, a prospective randomized study, and various meta-analyzes identified a reduction in all-cause mortality through the use of remote monitoring. This effect is mainly due to monitoring as closely as possible, timely examination of the findings, accordingly early interventions and specification of clear therapeutic regimens in certain clinical scenarios. Such comprehensive patient care requires the creation of telemonitoring centers with appropriate structural and personal equipment, whereby the creation of such structures has not yet been remunerated in the German healthcare system. In this paper, an overview of remote monitoring and identify possibilities and limitations of device-based telemedical monitoring is provided.