Joint innovation workshop on the "health revolution" in Jena

Services of general interest meet the healthcare sector: an innovative mix of industries came together this week at the Jena municipal utilities building under the motto „Starting the healthcare revolution“ to develop a new component of municipal healthcare solutions.

40 experts from the healthcare sector and related industries accepted the invitation from Stadtwerke to actively help shape the first telemedicine room in the city of Jena in the Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda at an innovation workshop.  

The telemedicine room is set to open in the first half of 2024 - initially with the approach of a real-life laboratory - in the Smart Quarter model project in Ziegesarstrasse. As an integral part of the city of Jena's Smart City strategy, it will then be further developed in terms of technology and content until 2027. The city of Jena is funding the project with a total of 750,000 euros. In the long term, the telemedicine room is intended to contribute to the "living of the future" and to people's quality of life. Stadtwerke Jena is planning to transfer the idea to other regions and applications.

All participants agreed that telemedicine can and must make an important contribution to patient care in the future in view of the shortage of specialists and demographic trends. In small groups, representatives from Jena University Hospital, the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, the German Red Cross, the Thuringia State Development Agency, the Thuringia Digital Agency, Ernst Abbe University, the AOK health insurance company and several companies from relevant sectors contributed different perspectives on the topic of telemedicine.

The experts focused on specific applications such as general medicine or facial paralysis, but also developed ideas for an operator concept and a common vision. The ideas and findings developed are to be consolidated and incorporated into the model phase of the telemedicine room. Further exchange and workshop dates are planned with the newly created network of municipal stakeholders from the public services and healthcare sectors.

Background: About the Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda   
The Smart Neighborhood Jena-Lobeda is a model project of the Stadtwerke Jena Group, which aims to make everyday life easier for tenants and improve their quality of life. To this end, the municipal housing company jenawohnen is renovating three existing WBS70 apartment buildings and equipping them with smart home components and bookable services for health, mobility and logistics. By the end of 2024, around 250 apartments of various sizes will be built in the Jena-Lobeda district, half of which will be rent-controlled.In 2023, two healthcare apartments were put into operation in the Smart Quarter as part of a collaboration between the city of Jena, Jenaer Stadtwerke and Jena University Hospital. These offer patients of the hospital the opportunity to recover in a homely environment and keep them in constant contact with the hospital staff thanks to state-of-the-art technical aids.

Further information on the Smarten Quartier Jena-Lobeda