In Styria

Rescue: The emergency doctor now travels with you on your cell phone

Emergency doctor Günther Vorhofer has already been on duty via cell phone. "It went well," he says.

(Bild: Peter Drexler)

Styria is getting a new emergency doctor base - the first digital one. How the new model works and in which cases it will be used from now on.

Provincial rescue commander Peter Hansak emphasizes one thing three times: "This is not a replacement for an emergency doctor, but an additional service, an improvement." In addition to the 20 emergency doctor bases on the ground and the three helicopters, there is now also a digital emergency doctor. All 280 ambulances and emergency doctor vehicles of the Styrian Red Cross have been equipped with smartphones by the state, with an emergency doctor on call at the other end of the line.

When is the digital emergency doctor used? "When you don't expect to need an emergency doctor," explains RK President Sigfried Schrittwieser. "For example, if you only have one transport journey and the patient's condition deteriorates unexpectedly." The emergency doctor is then connected via video telephony. Regional Health Councillor Karlheinz Kornhäusl (ÖVP) is enthusiastic: "It saves distances, it saves time, it's a massive improvement."

SPÖ party chairman Hannes Schwarz, Red Cross chief physician Berthold Petutschnigg, Red Cross Styria President Siegfried Schrittwieser, rescue commander Peter Hansak, ÖVP health councillor Karlheinz Kornhäusl

(Bild: LandSteiermark/Binder)

The virtual emergency doctor base was created in cooperation between the province of Styria and the Red Cross. For this purpose, 280 smartphones were purchased. It is available to Red Cross paramedics every day from 8 am to 6 pm.

Good to know

• What can an emergency doctor do via cell phone?
  They can instruct paramedics to administer certain medications, talk to patients and assess wounds and injuries in HD quality. So it's more than just a phone call, which also makes a legal difference. It is a consultation.
• What can be the result of a digital emergency doctor call?
  "The outcome can be different: the patient may be able to stay at home, they may have to come to hospital with us, or an emergency doctor may have to physically visit the patient after all," says Red Cross President Siegfried Schrittwieser.
• Where is the digital emergency doctor on duty?
  He can be anywhere - in hospital, but also at home while working in the garden. Like other emergency doctors, he is on call and is called by the rescue coordination center if necessary. He then makes digital contact with the paramedics who are on site with the patient.

Emergency doctor: "It worked well"
Emergency doctor Günter Vorhofer was also present at the presentation of the project on Monday at the Landhaushof in Graz - virtually connected from Liezen. "The first deployment worked very well," he says. Just working via telemedicine is not enough, says Vorhofer. But this new system makes perfect sense.