Jena (dpa/th) – The Jena University Hospital (UKJ) is receiving millions in funding for a study on the development of a care concept close to where people live. The Federal Joint Committee (GBA) of health insurance companies, doctors and clinics has approved 5.8 million euros for this, said the head of the post-Covid outpatient clinic at the UKJ, Andreas Stallmach, on Saturday at a congress in Jena. The core of the concept is a mobile ambulance that combines on-site diagnostics and care with video consultations. “We come to the patient by bus,” said Stallmach. The GBA is the body that decides which medical services are covered by statutory health insurance.
The background is the high need for treatment of long Covid patients, which cannot be covered by special outpatient clinics like in Jena alone. According to information at the congress of the Long Covid doctors’ association, around three million people in Germany are fighting the long-term effects of a corona infection. For more than four weeks after the corona infection, you suffer from chronic exhaustion, significant concentration disorders or persistent breathing difficulties. The development of interdisciplinary treatment concepts for these people is a topic of the congress.
The so-called watch study is to run for three years and include almost 700 patients. They are divided into two groups. One group should receive prompt care, the second group will receive care after three months. The results of both groups are then compared, from which the scientists hope to gain insights into the success of the treatment.
