Therapeutic treatments have so far only been permitted in the therapists’ practices or in the home environment. The special regulations during the corona pandemic were an exception. Thanks to a recently adopted amendment in the relevant directive, therapeutic product services can in future be provided permanently by telemedicine. By the end of 2021, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds and the umbrella organizations are to determine which medicinal products that can be prescribed are suitable for this procedure.
What does that mean in concrete terms?
Thanks to the ongoing special regulations, voice, speech and speech therapy, occupational therapy, certain types of physiotherapy and nutritional therapy can be carried out as video treatment until December 31, 2021. This assumes that there are no medical reasons against a telemedical approach and that those providing and receiving therapy agree to carry out the treatment units via video. This is voluntary and can be supplemented or replaced by face-to-face treatment at any time. Of course, secure video service providers such as sprechstunde.online should be used.
As soon as the corresponding resolutions to amend the Therapeutic Products Directive come into force and the contracts between the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds and the leading organizations of the therapeutic products providers have been concluded, video consultation hours will be included in standard care. The only requirement is that the Federal Ministry of Health has no legal objections to today’s decisions.
Dr. Monika Lelgemann, impartial member of the G-BA and chairman of the Subcommittee on Organized Services, sees this not only as the advantage of containing the risk of infection, but also particularly as an opportunity to strengthen supply in rural areas and at the same time to save journeys.
You can find out more at Page of the G-BA.
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