[Medicine in the digital age : Telemedicine in medical school education].

BACKGROUND: The increasing digitization of our lives and work has also reached medicine and is changing the profession of medical doctors. The modern forms of communication and cooperation in everyday medical practice demand new skills and qualifications.

GOALS: To enable future doctors to comply with this digitally competent profile, an innovative blended learning curriculum was developed and first implemented at the University Medical Center Mainz in summer semester 2017-Medicine in the Digital Age.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The teaching concept encompasses five modules, each consisting of an e‑learning unit and a 3-hour classroom course. This publication presents the teaching concept, the initial implementation and evaluation of the module "Telemedicine".

RESULTS: The competency development in the field of telemedicine showed a significant increase for the subcomponents "knowledge" and "skills". The neutral attitude towards telemedicine at the beginning of the module could be changed to a positive opinion after the session.

DISCUSSION: The teaching of digital skills is a relevant component of future curriculum development in medical studies and also a challenge for continuing medical education.