Crossen becomes a pioneer: telemedicine room to strengthen local care

A forward-looking project is taking shape in Crossen an der Elster: a telemedicine room is set to help improve medical care in rural areas in the future. The project is being developed together with local people and builds on experience from the smart district of Jena-Lobeda, a sub-project of the Smart City Jena project.

At the Citizens' Dialogue on Wednesday, April 29, there was intensive discussion in the clubhouse about how digital medicine can work in Crossen. Around 30 participants - including citizens, GPs, the local pharmacy and representatives from politics and the healthcare sector - contributed their perspectives, expectations and questions. The focus was particularly on the needs of older people aged 60 and over, who are expected to be an important user group of the telemedicine room in the future.

This participation process is a crucial building block for the Smart City Team of the city of Jena. Sub-project manager Olivia Busch emphasizes: "We are not developing a service that bypasses people. The telemedicine room is being created together with the citizens of Crossen - with their questions, their experiences and their everyday lives in mind. This is precisely what is important to ensure that the solution not only works technically, but is actually used."

The results so far also show that the project is picking up speed. Several medical specialists have already been firmly scheduled, including an orthopaedist and a cardiologist.

Mayor Herbert Zimmermann sees this as an important step for the region: "We have managed to attract specialists who are clearly committed to the project. This is a strong signal for Crossen and for medical care in rural areas."

In future, the telemedicine room will enable video consultations with doctors, accompanied by medical specialists on site. In this way, examinations can be supported, medication prescribed or referrals issued - without patients having to travel long distances. At the same time, it remains clear that in the case of acute complaints or complex examinations, a traditional visit to the doctor, for example in Eisenberg, is still necessary.

The need in Crossen is clearly noticeable. Since the retirement of the long-standing family doctor two years ago, many citizens have lacked a medical point of contact close to home. For patients, this means longer journeys and less direct care. The telemedicine room cannot completely replace this gap in care, but it can provide targeted relief and facilitate access to medical advice.

Project manager Mandy Steinbrück from Jenergie makes it clear that although the experiences from Jena-Lobeda form an important basis, the implementation in Crossen must be thought through independently: "We are drawing on tried-and-tested approaches, but not transferring them one-to-one. The solutions are developed here locally - adapted to the reality of life for the people in Crossen."

The Citizens' Dialogue showed a clear development: initial skepticism towards digital medicine is increasingly turning into interest and openness. Many questions were discussed directly - for example about local support, technical equipment and the medical issues for which the telemedicine room is suitable.

If everything goes according to plan, the first patient should be treated in the new telemedicine room in Crossen in the fall of 2026. This could make Crossen an important example of how digital solutions can usefully supplement medical care in rural areas.