Digital rescue: Mittweida starts a new era of emergency care!

Digital rescue: Mittweida starts a new era of emergency care!

The future of emergency medicine is opening a new chapter in Mittweida. Recently, emergency data can be transmitted digitally before the patient even arrives at the hospital. This innovation promises not only faster but also more targeted treatments. As the Sächsische.de reports, the central emergency department at the Mittweida Clinic is now directly linked to the emergency services. “A new era between preclinical and clinical care,” is how Ines Schreiber, who is responsible for public relations and marketing at the Landkreis Mittweida Hospital gGmbH, describes this step.

This digital networking enables emergency services employees to transmit important anamnesis and diagnostic data before they arrive at the hospital. This includes vital parameters, findings and initial assessments by the emergency services. This information flows directly into the clinic's IT system and is therefore immediately available digitally to the doctor providing further treatment. Such an approach is particularly important because time is often the difference between life and death in emergency medicine.

Urgency of emergency care

The numbers speak for themselves: In 2023, there were over 13.4 million emergency service calls for those with statutory health insurance and around 12.4 million outpatient emergency treatments in clinics, according to a report by Fraunhofer IESE emerges. The urgency varies considerably depending on the disease; Patients with acute heart attacks or strokes usually have to get to a clinic within 60 minutes of the emergency call. But the reality is often different. Often the goal of 60 minutes is not even met in two thirds of the cases.

An example illustrates the problem: A 58-year-old woman suddenly experiences weakness and palpitations. The emergency services arrive nine minutes after her emergency call, but it takes more than two hours before the patient is finally handed over to the cardiac catheter laboratory. During this time, valuable minutes risk wasting away, which in an emergency could cost your survival.

Opportunities of digitalization

Advancing digitalization could help here. Studies show that digital solutions could save time by up to 50%. However, we are still at the beginning. Although modern technologies exist, they are not used across the board. The reason for this often lies in the fragmented nature of the structures, the lack of interoperability and legal requirements.

Another step in the right direction could be the EU eCall, which promises automated emergency calls in the event of serious accidents from 2026. But while new technologies offer great potential, there are also practical concerns. Employees in the emergency services are skeptical about digital processes. Data protection remains an important issue, but does not represent an insurmountable obstacle.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could also play a role in emergency medicine, but trust and reliability must be built here. Initiatives like those of Fraunhofer IESE support digitalization in emergency medicine with projects that rely on modern solutions.

In summary, digital networking in emergency medicine is a pioneering step that not only makes the work of emergency services easier, but above all focuses on the well-being of patients. It remains to be hoped that these developments will be implemented across the board in the near future.