Background: Worldwide, the number of treatments in the field of sports medicine is increasing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday life. Many consultations had to be cancelled, postponed, or converted to a virtual format. Telemedicine in sports medicine could support physicians. This study analyzes the use and perception of telemedicine applications among physicians and patients in the field of sports medicine in Germany. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was based on a survey of sports medicine physicians and patients in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Results: We analyzed the responses of 729 patients and 702 sports medicine physicians. Most believed that telemedicine is useful. Both physicians and patients rated their knowledge of telemedicine as unsatisfactory. The majority of respondents said they do not currently use telemedicine but would like to do so. Patients and physicians reported that their attitude had changed positively towards telemedicine and that their usage had increased due to COVID-19. The majority in both groups agreed on implementing virtual visits in stable disease conditions. Telemedicine was considered helpful for follow-up monitoring and prevention by both groups. Conclusion: Telemedicine in sports medicine has seen limited use but is highly accepted among physicians and patients alike. The absence of a structured framework is an obstacle to effective implementation. Training courses should be introduced to improve the limited knowledge regarding the use of telemedicine. More research in telemedicine in sports medicine is needed. This includes large-scale randomized controlled trials, economic analyses and explorations of user preferences.

Background To ensure successful medical education despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for online instruction has substantially increased. Fast and efficient teaching in a digital format poses a great challenge for medical students and lecturers as well as the universities. Objective The aim of this study is to capture the readiness of medical students and faculty members to participate in rapidly- evolving online education. Methods This cross-sectional study is based on two questionnaires distributed among medical students and associate deans for education in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Questions included decision- making questions, categorical questions, and open-ended questions, all addressing the frequency and format of the digital education offered, the perceived quality of digital education, and medical student satisfaction with digital education. Questions about missing content and areas for improvement from the perspectives of medical students were included. The associate deans were asked for their opinions about the impact of the pandemic on teaching, the organizational setup and implementation of digital education by universities, and plans for future initiatives. Results Three thousand and thirty medical students (m = 752 and f = 2245) from 53 universities participated in the study. The study showed that 92% of students were affected by the pandemic, and 19% of the students viewed the changes as entirely negative. 97% of the medical students were able to participate in digital courses, but only 4% were able to learn exclusively online. For 77% of the medical students, digital offerings accounted for over 80% of the education offered. In terms of content, medical students complained about a lack of practical teaching, such as contact with patients, lecturers, fellow medical students, and a poor perceived quality of teaching due to dubbing, frequent changeover of seminars, problem-oriented learning groups and in-person teaching, a lack of interaction possibilities and a lack of technical equipment, such as lecturers’ knowledge and server capacities, at the universities. Overall, almost half of the medical students (42%) rated the implementation of digital teaching at their universities as good or very good. Forty-one of the 53 associate deans responded to the questionnaire, and 35 felt medical education was influenced by the pandemic. The associate deans (80%; 33/41) felt that the digitalization of medical education was negatively influenced by the pandemic. Only 44% (18/41) felt that their universities were well or very well positioned for digital teaching. All the associate deans believe that digital teaching in medicine will continue after the pandemic. Conclusions In the German-speaking world, the rapid conversion of medical teaching to a digital format has been well implemented in many cases. The perceived quality of the implementation of digital education still lacks practical relevance and the use of new digital media, such as learning games, VR, and online question time. The digital format of medical education will likely continue beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background The global incidence in the treatment of transgender people is increasing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many consultations had to be cancelled, postponed, or converted to a virtual format. Telemedicine in the management of transgender health care could support physicians. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the acceptance, use, and barriers of telemedicine in transgender health care in times of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany. Methods This prospective cross-sectional study was based on a survey of gynecological endocrinologists and transgender patients undergoing gender-affirming hormone treatment in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and regression analyses were performed to show correlations. Results We analyzed responses of 269 transgender patients and 202 gynecological endocrinologists treating transgender patients. Most believed that telemedicine was useful. Physicians and patients rated their knowledge of telemedicine as unsatisfactory. The majority of respondents said they did not currently use telemedicine, although they would like to do so. Patients and physicians reported that their attitudes toward telemedicine had changed positively and that their use of telemedicine had increased due to COVID-19. The majority in both groups agreed on the implementation of virtual visits in the context of stable disease conditions. In the treatment phases, 74.3% (150/202) of the physicians said they would use telemedicine during follow-ups. Half of the physicians said they would choose tele-counseling as a specific approach to improving care (128/202, 63.4%). Obstacles to the introduction of telemedicine among physicians included the purchase of technical equipment (132/202, 65.3%), administration (124/202, 61.4%), and poor reimbursement (106/202, 52.5%). Conclusions Telemedicine in transgender health care found limited use but high acceptance among doctors and patients alike. The absence of a structured framework is an obstacle for effective implementation. Training courses should be introduced to improve the limited knowledge of physicians in the use of telemedicine. More research in tele-endogynecology is needed. Future studies should include large-scale randomized controlled trials, economic analyses, and the exploration of user preferences.

Zusammenfassung Einführung Der Vormarsch der digitalen Revolution im Medizin- und Gesundheitsbereich wird als „e-health“ bezeichnet. Das Internet dient als digitale Gesundheitsinformationsplattform, da eine medizinische Informationsquelle unverzichtbar ist. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, orthopädische Patienten auf ihr Informationsverhalten über ihre Erkrankungen zu untersuchen. Dabei werden die Rolle und Bedeutung des Internets als informative Gesundheitsanwendung für diese Patienten beleuchtet. Materialen und Methoden Grundlage dieser prospektiven Querschnittsstudie war eine Patientenbefragung in Deutschland bei orthopädischen Patienten von Juli 2019 bis Juli 2020. Es wurden deskriptive Statistiken berechnet und Regressionsanalysen durchgeführt, um Zusammenhänge aufzuzeigen. Ergebnisse Wir analysierten die Antworten von 1262 orthopädischen Patienten. Die meisten von ihnen nutzen das Internet als digitale Gesundheitsinformationsplattform. Ihre Internetkenntnisse bewerteten die Patienten unabhängig von Alter oder Bildungsstand als gut bis sehr gut. Die meisten Befragten gaben an, dass sie derzeit mindestens einmal pro Woche das Internet nutzen, um sich über ihre orthopädische Erkrankung zu informieren. Patienten berichteten, dass sich ihre Einstellung zum Internet als digitale medizinische Informationsquelle positiv verändert und dessen Nutzung in den letzten 12 Monaten zugenommen hat. Schlussfolgerung Das Internet als informative digitale Gesundheitsanwendung in der Orthopädie wird intensiv genutzt und von den Patienten weitgehend akzeptiert. Während das Misstrauen gegenüber orthopädischen Gesundheitsinformationen aus dem Internet abgenommen hat, stieg aus Patientensicht das Vertrauen in digitale Gesundheitsinformationsplattformen. Das Internet wurde neben der ärztlichen Beratung als hilfreiche Gesundheitsinformationsplattform gesehen.

Background Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for online courses has increased enormously. Therefore, finding new methods to improve medical education is imperative. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the self-reports of the individual student-centered virtual teaching techniques (seminar versus fishbowl) in a group of medical students. Methods During the second semester of 2020, students in the clinical phase of the study (n = 144) participated in the optional subject of Sports Medicine. The students were divided into 2 groups. One group (n = 72) received the knowledge transfer in the form of a virtual seminar, the other group (n = 72) in the form of a virtual fishbowl. Results Virtual seminar and virtual fishbowl students gave insights into these teaching techniques. Most of the students from the virtual fishbowl group believed that the virtual fishbowl format allowed them to be more actively involved in learning. The mean quiz scores were statistically higher for students in the virtual fishbowl group than students in the virtual seminar group (p < 0. 001). Conclusion This study concluded that virtual seminars and virtual fishbowl formats could be served as structured learning and teaching formats. At the same time, the virtual fishbowl format can promote an active exchange of knowledge from students’ perspectives.