On June 24-25, in 2023, two-day international congress, "Medical News," was held at the Sheraton Grand Metechi Palace Hotel in Tbilisi. Both Georgian and foreign doctors spoke at the congress. They introduced the audience to the innovative technological alterations existing in the field of medicine. The two-day congress ended with a gala concert and awarding doctors. The congress was organized by the Transcaucasian Doctors’ League. The event was held with the full support of the Tbilisi City Hall.
Among the speakers at the congress was the founder and general director of the first German diagnostic center "Deutsches Diagnosticum" in Georgia, Doctor of Medicine, Professor Giorgi Grigolia. In his speech, he spoke about modern achievements in medicine. According to him, modern digital medicine has no alternative. It can be conditionally divided into 3 parts: telemedicine, teleradiology and robotic medicine.
The priorities of telemedicine are: close cooperation with local and internationally recognized medical personnel, creating maximum comfort for patients, getting the best medical services in the world in the shortest possible time, and saving money. Giorgi Grigolia noted that at present the problem in the treatment of patients is not the complexity of the disease, but the wrong sequence of treatment. The doctor must know what a patient needs at what stage. Almost always, a systematic approach is needed, close ties with laboratories and obtaining reliable conclusions from them. Exactly with this systematic approach the patients are treated at Deutsches Diagnosticum. The center foundation was inspired by several factors. As you know, the market must respond to existing demand. The demand for distant medical services is growing more and more, and this process has been accelerated by the corona pandemic. In 2020-2022, the survey was conducted where 4,000 people from European countries were participating and 61% of them liked it and wanted to sign up for a remote visit to the doctor. Comfort, saving time, finances were named as reasons, and the factor that there is a high risk of getting ill with several diseases when visiting a clinic was highlighted. The existing factors were a significant inspiration for the establishment of a German diagnostic center in Georgia. The center has been operating for a year and a half, and it has big plans for the future.
"Deutsches Diagnosticum" currently is functioning based on three directions, such as: laboratory, telemedicine and teleradiology. Professor Georgy Grigolia noted that the role and support of Western partners, including German colleagues, is great in this important matter. The center cooperates with several leading German clinics, including the Charite University Hospital in Munich. The center priority is proper patient care. Patients will be treated by Georgian doctors on site, and they will be connected remotely with German doctors. In fact, Deutsches Diagnosticum is a bridge connecting the patient with the leading clinics in any country. So far, the center cooperates with German clinics, but in the future it is planned to be connected to other countries and clinics. Professor Giorgi Grigolia noted that the doors of Deutsches are open to all Georgian professional doctors who want to share their knowledge and experience.
At the end of the speech Professor Giorgi Grigolia said something very important. According to him, one of the inspirations for the creation of Deutsches Diagnosticum was the fact that in recent years many Georgian citizens have gone abroad for treatment, and this number is growing day by day. On average, each patient costs between 5,000 and 10,000 euros to travel to Europe for treatment. Deutsches Diagnosticum will cost about one third of this amount, so the goal of the center is to ensure that patients do not leave the country for treatment. By activating and strengthening ties, we must collectively solve this problem. Giorgi Grigolia notes that the center will not weaken its efforts to turn this direction so that Georgia is a recipient, from where this or that medical vision and experience will be transferred. And last, medical tourism in Georgia can be well developed, the country really has the necessary resources for this and Deutsches Diagnosticum plans to have one direction in the realm of medical tourism in the future.
