Medical and nursing care

Medical and nursing care are core areas of public services and cover a very broad spectrum. On the one hand they include general and specialist medical care for the population as well as inpatient care in hospitals and specialist clinics. On the other hand, outpatient and inpatient care of the elderly also belong to this area of responsibility. Due to the wide range of public services, medical and nursing care services that will be used by everyone sooner or later. In this context, the quality of these services has an even greater and more direct influence on the quality of life of the beneficiaries.  

In structurally weak rural areas, securing medical and nursing care is facing growing challenges. Due to the increasing proportion of the elderly population, the need for medical and nursing services is increasing. In addition, there is an important debate on the position of the country doctor: there is often a lack of doctors to take over and continue practices in rural areas. Further problems arise due to the distances involved in reaching pharmacies and hospitals. In the care sector, demographic change (especially the increasing average age of the rural population) is also heightening the need for outpatient and inpatient care.

In order to meet the growing challenges associated with ensuring medical and nursing care in rural areas, innovative approaches for providing them are being investigated to an ever greater extent. Possible solutions are the use of telemedicine and a closer interlinking between outpatient and inpatient care. Better-coordinated travel and transport connections can contribute to bringing services within easier reach.In this context, the InDaLE project concentrates on model projects that adopt the approaches mentioned above.