Bringing Health Services to Those Who Need It Most

Today, technology solutions are addressing the world’s most challenging problems. The medibus, Germany’s first vaccine vehicle, is one of those solutions.

It’s making life-changing impact on healthcare in rural communities that need it most.

Since launching last year, a medibus is in use 6 days a week to deliver health services to rural regions and underserved populations in Germany. Recently, an elderly woman living in a small remote village and challenged with her ability to travel for healthcare needs received treatment for chronic diseases from arthritis to diabetes. Lacking a permanent local option, and if not for the medibus, this woman would’ve likely had to leave her family and relocate to an assistance home in the city.

Another larger version of the bus (pictured above) was presented both as VR model and in-person at Cisco Live Berlin this year. It is currently used by the Berlin medical center Charité for a huge vaccination campaign. Within a just a few months, many thousands of patients have been examined and vaccinated in the mobile medical office.

Across the globe, we are seeing large population and demographic shifts that increasingly affect how medical professionals deliver imperative services. To address the challenge of bringing care to remote regions, Cisco, Deutsche Bahn, and Charité and SAVD teamed up to convert former Deutsche Bahn vehicles into fully-equipped mobile care facilities. With the vehicles, general health care, specialist medical care, occupational examinations, and health information events are possible.

Plus, with Cisco technology, live video translation can be established, which allows patient communication in all relevant languages, without having to have a multitude of interpreters on site.

With the medibus, care is no longer time or place dependent. Specialists and experts are made available to patients through video conferencing, and with the mobility of a care vehicle, health services are now accessible to everyone, regardless of their physical location.

And the opportunities for transformation with this concept don’t stop at health care. The bus could be used for a variety of innovative purposes in government, education and citizen services.

To learn more about the medibus, check out the video below, or follow along with @CiscoHealth for more updates.