Telemedicine takes off in Germany during pandemic

Bootsveld (right) speaks with intensive care physician at the University hospital in Aachen Dr Judith Ibba (on display) about a Covid-19 case while using telemedicine at the Bethlehem Hospital in Stolberg, western Germany, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. — AFP

AACHEN, Germany: When doctor Andreas Bootsveld has to make life-or-death decisions about Covid-19 patients, he is not alone – as well as consulting his colleagues, he can draw on the advice of a team of specialists.

These experts are not with him in the intensive care unit, but at a bigger hospital 20 kilometres (12 miles) away, linked up via videoconference as part of a project to connect medics in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.