RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG: Supervisory Board Approves to Establish Medgate Deutschland GmbH

DGAP-News: RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG / Key word(s): Investment/Miscellaneous

07.11.2019 / 14:50
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Corporate News

Bad Neustadt / Saale |7th November 2019

Supervisory Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG Approves to Establish Medgate Deutschland GmbH

• Investment, Strategy and Finance Committee of the Supervisory Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG with the power of resolution and Administrative Board of Medgate International approve establishment of Medgate Deutschland GmbH with Swiss telemedicine provider Medgate
   
• RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG to hold 51 % majority stake in the joint company with Medgate to hold 49 % stake
   
• Medgate Deutschland will profit from experience of both partners over many years in rendering telemedical services and digital healthcare
   
• Medgate Deutschland will in future offer access irrespective of time or place to medical advice and treatment for both urgent and/or general medical questions via telephone, video, internet and smartphone app
   
• Promising negotiations with health insurance companies about services on offer from Medgate Deutschland

Following the Administrative Board of Medgate International the Investment, Strategy and Finance Committee of the Supervisory Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG with the power of resolution has approved the establishment of a joint company called Medgate Deutschland GmbH with the telemedicine provider Medgate. A unanimous resolution by the Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG was also passed prior to the unanimous resolution by the Supervisory Board. RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG will hold a majority stake of 51 % of the shares of the new company which will be registered in Germany. Medgate which is registered in Basel will hold 49 % of the shares. In future Medgate Deutschland will provide patients with advice and treatment within the German regulatory framework for both urgent and/or general medical questions via telephone, video, internet and a smartphone app in an initial expansion stage.

The preparations for establishing the company are already well on schedule. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the agreement nor current negotiations with health insurance companies. Services will initially be directed towards private health insurance companies and self-payers. It is also intended to work with the statutory health insurance companies and to extend the services on offer. Medical agreements for employers, other services such as consultations for travel medication or solutions for psychiatric illnesses or telemonitoring programmes could also be offered in the future together with health insurance partner companies. An example of the service portfolio is the Medgate Tele Clinic in Basel. It is the largest telemedical centre in Europe which is run by physicians. Medgate will be able to use its experience of over 8.3 million telemedical consultations.

Stephan Holzinger, CEO of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, stated: "With our campus in Bad Neustadt we have created the first healthcare site in Germany which overcomes the hitherto, patient-unfriendly boundaries between out-patient and in-patient services. With our decision to enter the telemedical market we are adding to our medical value chain: digital services before out-patient services before in-patient services is the motto which we are embracing here. We have found a strong and experienced partner in Medgate who shares our demands for high quality and strict security in telemedical services."

Dr. Andy Fischer, CEO of Medgate, stated: "I am very pleased that the Supervisory Board of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG has approved to establish the joint company. With RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG we have a strong partner at our side who will press on with us to introduce the innovative Medgate services in telemedicine and digital healthcare to the German market. In the months prior to signing the agreement we were able to define the basic structure of the new company and work on the technological infrastructure as well as prepare the recruitment process and make regular contact with potential partners and clients. Thanks to these preparations we shall easily be able to complete the next stages towards our services entering the market."

Extensive range of services - digital visits by Medgate Deutschland physicians

Together with Medgate RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG has made extensive preparations for introducing an innovative telemedical concept to Germany. The structure for rendering telemedical services and digital healthcare is being set up in line with the Swiss business model while taking the German legal framework conditions into account. The range of services offered by Medgate Deutschland will basically cover telemedical advice and treatment and, if necessary, give further recommendations to the patient of relevant out-patient and in-patient services.

The range of services is directed towards an increasingly digital-savvy society and their demand for efficient, comfortable and rapid healthcare. The advantages for the patients are self-evident: advice and treatment irrespective of time and place as well as the direct receipt of prescriptions or sick slips. We offer access to telemedical services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The treatment by permanently employed physicians is based on established evidence-based medical guidelines. The initial contact with the telemedical services is via specialist medical staff or via a smartphone app after an automatic triage process.

Medgate Deutschland - strategic addition to range of services

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG's claim with Medgate Deutschland is to contribute to closing the growing gaps in medical care, particularly in rural areas. The first step is to cover the specialist areas of general and internal medicine, paediatrics, dermatology and gynaecology. The permanently employed physicians will receive specific and extensive training for rendering telemedical advice and treatment and its peculiarities. Medical guidelines will insure that the medical treatment is of the highest quality.

Very promising negotiations with health insurance companies

The negotiations with health insurance companies are progressing very well. We have already been able to win a notable private health insurance company as a client. Patients of this health insurance company have already been able to use Medgate's telemedical services since 1^st September 2019. As in the Swiss business model the patients are able to benefit from the advantages of the Medgate app: easy access to telemedicine services, direct symptom recording, uploading supporting documents, choice of channel, language and time of medical teleconsultation, choice of favourite doctor or insight into personal treatment plan. Patients can also access the services via a telephone line which is currently being manned from Switzerland, enabling the patients to have access to telemedical services round the clock. As soon as Medgate Deutschland GmbH is up and running, the contract will be transferred to Medgate Deutschland and the services will be provided exclusively from Germany.

Relaxing of the ban on remote treatments will cause demand for telemedicine to rise

Telemedicine is a growth market: RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG and Medgate are convinced that the gradual relaxation of the ban on remote treatments will cause the demand for telemedical services to rise significantly in Germany in the years to come. In May 2018 the annual general meeting of the German Medical Association (Deutscher Ärztetag) approved an amendment to the standard professional code of conduct for physicians working in Germany relaxing the hitherto applicable ban on remote treatments.

Medgate Deutschland - linking two strong partners

As one of the leading private hospital operators RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG has shown innovative force together with medical excellence for more than 45 years and is currently demonstrating a pioneering role in the German healthcare system with its digitalisation strategy and campus model. It is the only private hospital operator to have the expertise of two university hospitals. Our company has already been using telemedical processes for many years in preclinical trials, in-patient and out-patient care and also in the after-care process.

Medgate has already provided telemedical services to more than 8.3 million patients since it was established in 1999. In peak times over 5,700 patient contacts were made every day. Medgate is therefore one of the leading providers of telemedicine in Europe Regular training and further education ensures a high level of professional qualification of the personnel. The physicians and medical staff of Medgate Tele Clinic are permanent employees. Medgate employs over 300 people in Switzerland, including around 100 physicians.

It is intended for Medgate Deutschland to employ its staff, including permanently employed physicians, on a similar basis. Medgate offers flexible working hours, regular training sessions and reliable rota planning. The number of future physicians who will work for Medgate Deutschland depends on corporate growth and will be based on the Swiss experience.

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RHÖN‐KLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany. The hospital group offers excellent medical care with a direct link to universities and research institutes. More than 850,000 patients are treated every year at the five group hospitals located in Bad Berka, Bad Neustadt, Frankfurt (Oder), Giessen and Marburg where more than 17,000 employees work. With the RHÖN campus concept the Company is currently implementing a new and forward-looking project which raises fully comprehensive healthcare in rural areas to a new level of excellence and is geared to the growing needs of patients.

More information under www.rhoen-klinikum-ag.com

Contact:

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG | Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing
Elke Pfeifer
Telephone: +49 9771 65-1327 | E-Mail: elke.pfeifer@rhoen-klinikum-ag.com

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG | Head of Investor Relations and Treasury
Julian Schmitt
Telephone: +49 9771 65-1536 | E-Mail: julian.schmitt@rhoen-klinikum-ag.com

RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG | Schlossplatz 1 | 97616 Bad Neustadt/Saale, Germany

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