Asklepios Kliniken Hamburg launches online psychiatric clinic
03.05.2022 11:44
The inpatient, outpatient and day clinic offerings of the psychiatric departments of the Asklepios Klinik Nord with its locations in Ochsenzoll, Wandsbek and numerous day clinics in the Hamburg city area are now being joined by another: the online clinic. Asklepios Kliniken says it is taking an important step to close the gap in care for patients who need psychiatric treatment.
The need for treatment of mental illnesses is constantly increasing. These are now considered THE widespread diseases of the 21st century. According to studies, one in four adults is said to suffer from a mental illness at least temporarily over the course of their life. Incapacity to work and early retirement are the result. In contrast, there are very long waiting times for therapy places. The new online clinic offer, provided by Asklepios Klinik Nord, aims to reduce this gap and offer patients quick help. With the innovative online clinic offer, the Hamburg Asklepios Clinics create a connection between the already proven outpatient and day clinic therapy offers and at the same time modern digital options.
“For certain clinical pictures, online therapy offers can replace physical presence in or participation in an outpatient or day clinic facility,” says Sarang Thakkar, medical director of the online clinic and also head physician of the outpatient centers at Asklepios Klinik Nord. “If a patient’s illness also requires therapy, the online clinic’s offerings could at least be used as quick help to mitigate acute peaks in the disease and prepare patients for on-site therapy.”
The aim is to be able to offer patients an online treatment place within a few days or an initial consultation appointment to find out whether treatment in the online clinic could be an option. In the first step, the treatment offer focuses on patients in the catchment area of the Hamburg Asklepios clinics, as a personal introduction is necessary at least once per quarter. The next step is to expand the offering to other Asklepios Group clinics and increase the number of treatment places.
“The colleagues who will work in the online clinic are part of a multi-professional team,” says Dr. Ulrich Knopp, Managing Director of the Asklepios Clinic North. “Through cooperation and the clear networking of the skills of our inpatient and online employees, we are convinced that we can offer a concept that serves the patient’s well-being. We offer a broad and specialized range of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatments and at the same time offer an attractive, 21st century workplace for doctors specializing in psychiatry and psychotherapy. From the beginning, the colleagues will only care for the patients of the online clinic.”
The employees of the online clinic are also expressly asked to further design and develop the clinic's offerings. After all, it is a new offer in Germany that targets people with mental disorders or illnesses and who often need very complex psychiatric and psychosomatic help. In order to cover this and enable those affected to have the best possible social participation during and after therapy, various medical and psychosocial offers are necessary.
“We have already tested online offers for patients in addition to on-site therapy and have had very good experiences and noticed a good approval rate among those treated,” says Sarang Thakkar. “We are now taking the next logical step with largely online clinical treatment and are convinced that the online clinic will provide decisive impetus in the psychiatric treatment spectrum.”