June 24, 2016 Europe Practice

Beyond bariatric surgery: A pilot aftercare programme for bariatric patients in Germany

A pilot aftercare programme offering a six-month nutritional counselling and weight monitoring service to qualifying bariatric patients was initiated by KKH, a major health insurer in Germany; thoughtful presentation of evidence and effective communication of observed problems by KKH staff was crucial for gaining the managerial support needed to start the initiative; capitalizing on existing infrastructure minimized the need for additional resource investments; active patient participation has been encouraged, with health education and counselling used to empower pilot participants to adopt healthy behaviours; continuation of the initiative will be determined based on a comprehensive analysis of collected data once the pilot reaches its target number of 100 participants.

Sept. 6, 2016 Europe Practice

Telerehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Denmark

A pilot programme to test home-based telerehabilitation for COPD patients was designed and implemented by researchers at Aalborg University; a supportive political and legislative environment provided a platform for furthering the development of e-health and telemedicine; partnerships with stakeholders outside the health sector supported the development of telemedicine and helped drive service delivery transformations; patients were given a more active role in care and new collaborative partnerships between patients and providers were developed; success of the initial pilot led to a larger-scale study with greater involvement of regional and municipal actors.