The TI Messenger - For Better Medical Care

With the help of tim+, the internal communication of a hospital, nursing home, or other medical facility can be significantly improved. For example, the TI messenger simplifies communication in patient care right from the start. In the "Care - Doctor" example, nurse Antonia can inform the family doctor's office, Dr. Klingenstaedt, via chat that resident K123456789 has developed a slight skin rash overnight. To do this, she takes a picture of the rash and sends the picture to the doctor's office on the same day with a request for feedback. In this case, the TI messenger saves nurse Antonia from losing valuable time on the phone with the doctor's office, as she still has to wash and care for other residents. In addition, the case was documented and could already be filed due to the integration into the nursing system. Since Nurse Antonia's shift ends in an hour, she has marked the case and passed it on to the next shift so that they can monitor the progress and take action, if necessary, should the rash worsen or the resident worsen.

Note: The case has been simplified.

In addition to the usual functions that are also familiar from well-known messenger services, tim+ paid particular attention to how case-based communication between service providers, e.g., doctors and specialists, can be mapped in a user-friendly way. An example of this is cases that need to be treated and cared for over a longer period of time. Particularly in oncology, in the case of chronically ill people, or in the case of multimorbidity, it can make sense to closely monitor the course of a therapy or wound healing to intervene as early as possible. In this case, it makes sense to maintain communication via tim+ over weeks, months, or even years. tim+ is primarily used as a tool to stay in contact with the treating specialist, to clarify queries, and, if necessary, to conduct a direct video conference with the respective specialist. Patients can also be included in the chat. 
It should be noted that tim+ is not intended as a storage medium. The relevant patient data can be transferred via tim+ without hesitation for improved communication. Still, for legal and medical reasons, storage in the respective HIS (hospital information system) or PVS is also required for legal and medical reasons. 

The cases describe just two of countless use cases in medical care. Thanks to the Messenger service's functions, medical specialists are given the opportunity to exchange information with healthcare facilities within and, above all, outside their organization. This also includes laboratories and health offices. As health insurers and insured persons will also officially become part of the TI messenger community in the future, automatic appointment scheduling or ordering follow-up prescriptions via smartphone or tablet is within reach. Health insurers are obliged to provide their insureds with a TI messenger. Whether via ePA or health insurance app, every insured person will have access to a TI messenger in the future.

Currently, the use of a TI messenger is not mandatory. Each medical facility can decide for itself whether or not to use a messenger service.

We work with a network of different service providers on-site and primary system manufacturers through which they can obtain tim+. Together with our partners, we make our TI messenger available to you, accompany you during the service setup, and assist you beyond that with a wide range of support. To ensure that tim+ can be used smoothly in your everyday life, users can obtain our TI messenger via their umbrella organization, their known local service providers (DVO), and primary system manufacturers. 

As with our partner product, kim+, our TI messenger stands out with the excellent service you can expect from us and our partners. With the integrated video consultation and our other TI products, you receive an attractive offer from us. In addition, our TI messenger can be seamlessly integrated into your existing primary systems.

KIM is a communication service via which healthcare providers can send cross-sector e-mails containing documents such as eAUs (electronic certificates of incapacity for work), digital transfer sheets or findings. A prerequisite for the use of KIM is a connection to the TI through a connector on site or in the data center, whereby the use can take place exclusively in the practice, nursing home or other medical facility. The use of a KIM service is mandatory for all practices that want to send e-doctor letters or eAUs.

TIM, on the other hand, is a messenger similar to WhatsApp - only it can be used in a legally secure manner in the healthcare sector. The messenger can be used regardless of location and device, which means it can be used flexibly for internal as well as cross-sector communication. Colleagues can easily exchange images and information on the health status of their patients - for example, a wound - or contact the doctor directly via smartphone. There is currently no obligation to use the TI Messenger.