Posts Tagged ‘Telehealth’

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NHS should change their approach to telehealth and telecare

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

Paul Burstow, the Care Services Minister, has stated that he would like the NHS to explore new and innovative methods of utilising telehealth and telecare without needing large amounts of capital investment.

Speaking at the King’s Fund International Congress on telehealth and telecare, Burstow stated that the NHS should ideally be able to acquire technology through monthly contracts similar to how people buy iPhones or Blackberrys. This could be used for technology such as blood pressure and other vital sign monitors.

NHS Gloucestershire is currently using such a strategy by collaborating with provider Tunstall. The company covers the up-front costs, such as clinical engagement, pathway redesign and training, and supplies NHS Gloucestershire on a per patient per month basis. This negates the need for large scale up-front costs, and it enables the supplier to build relationships with patients and customers that it otherwise would not have.

Burstow also predicted that in time the cost of the telehealth and telecare technologies will start to fall. He states that costs in the UK are significantly higher than they are in the US which he attributes to our lower adoption rate.

One of the principal challenges to the large scale take up of telehealth and telecare is broadband capacity, said Burstow. Those patients who stand to benefit from telehealth technologies live in rural areas where broadband provision is worst, hindering the ability to deploy mobile devices. The government has reportedly allotted £530 million of funding to improve connectivity, although this may take some time.

Burstow also states that NHS staff do not have the sufficient skills to utilise telehealth and telecare properly. Significant support and training will have to be directed towards staff is implementation takes place on a large scale. To resolve this issue, the government has asked the NHS Institute to develop a support programme for staff and patients so they can make the most of these technologies at a local level.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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“Tele-rehabilitation” home recovery for knee replacements

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

A “tele-rehabilitation” device has been launched which allows patients recovering from total knee replacement surgery to recover at home.

The “Rehabitic” product utilises wearable wireless sensing technology for patients that would traditionally require a long stay in hospital and extensive physiotherapy sessions.

To use Rehabatic, the patient attaches devices to both sides of the affected knee in front of a touch screen PC. A software programme then guides them through a session of physiotherapy in their own home.

An onscreen avatar displays the patient’s movement in real-time, with dynamic feedback and reflection of performance. All the collected information is then sent to the clinician for either real time or offline assessment.

By reducing the amount of hospital visits required by the patient and reducing post-surgery inpatient stays, capacity is increased in physiotherapy services. Furthermore, savings can arise from a reduction in organised hospital transport, with further benefits arising from patient satisfaction.

Original Source Healthcare Global

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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NHS missing out on the benefits if telehealth

Friday, February 10th, 2012

A report from the Department of Health (DoH) has stated that the NHS must embrace telehealth on a nationwide scale, asserting that it is the most efficient and cost-effective way to treat long-term conditions.

The report followed the DoH’s Whole System Demonstrator results which were announced in December 2011, highlighting telehealth as a “unique opportunity to make significant financial savings when implemented for patients suffering with long-term conditions”.

As long-term conditions affect 31% of the population but account for 69% of all primary and acute care budgets in England, it is thought that telehealth could be a significant factor in helping the NHS to achieve their £20 billion savings target by 2015. These patients account for more than half of GP appointments and nearly two-thirds of all outpatient appointments. The 5% of patients who have one or more long-term conditions account for 49% of all inpatient bed days.

Commenting on the report, Ivan McConnell, a telehealth expert at PA Consulting, states that telehealth and telecare have been shown to provide opportunities for delivering care more efficiently. He cites evidence that demonstrates the delivery of both cost savings and improved care to patients with long-term conditions. The benefits have primarily been in preventing unplanned hospital admissions and facilitating early discharge.

In an attempt to move care out of acute settings and into the community, telehealth provides a mechanism through which some patients with long-term conditions can remotely monitor a range of daily vital signs such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, temperature and weight. Consistent collection also provides a strong set of trend data for clinical teams to analyse.

Recent DoH research highlighted that over 90% of people with long-term conditions say they want to be more active self-carers and over 75% would be confident in being a self-carer if they had support and assistance. Granting patients the opportunity to self-monitor would allow a greater degree of independence and an improved understanding of their condition.

Improvements are also predicted to come from telehealth technology giving NHS staff the means to work collaboratively with colleagues in adult social care to develop an integrated telehealth care pathway. This integrated approach is thought to be able to deliver reductions in the amount of domiciliary care needed, as well as a 17% reduction in the number of people needing residential or nursing care over a 12-month period.

McConnell states that despite a large bank of evidence, telehealth is not being adequately promoted in the NHS. Any existing procurements are a small scale, with implementation not being fully completed.

“The NHS is currently missing the opportunity for significant financial benefits and improved patient care, and urgently needs to look at implementing telehealth on a larger scale” McConnell says.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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24,000 “avoidable” Diabetes deaths per year

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

An audit has revealed an “incredibly alarming” estimate of 24,000 annual deaths from Diabetes due to failures in healthcare, meaning that many are unable to manage their condition properly and die “avoidably early”.

The figure is though to stem from a large scale failure in the promotion of health checks, medication and drive to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Lack of management of the condition increases the risk of dangerously high or low blood sugar, heart failure or kidney problems.

Whilst the audit states that 75% of the 24,000 deaths are among the over-65s, younger patients are the most at risk. Two young people aged 15-34 in England are believed to die every week as a result.

Dr Bob Young, a consultant diabetologist who led the audit, said the grim statistics gave the first reliable measure of the huge impact of diabetes on early death. He asserted that many of these early deaths were preventable. Without significant action being taken to improve services for Diabetic patient, Young states that the death toll may increase, as the condition is typically long-term and the number of sufferers is on the rise.

Paul Burstow, the Care Services Minister, called the figure “unacceptable”, stating that he hopes the NHS will now take the steps towards improve care for Diabetes sufferers. He believes that an expansion of Telehealth, which lets patients use technology to monitor their vital signs from home, would help diabetics manage their condition better. Greater integration of health and social care services and a reduction in required hospital visits from patients is also thought to have a potential positive effect.

Barbara Young, the Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said the figures were “there is no reason why people with diabetes cannot live long and healthy lives if they receive the right care and support to manage their conditions.”

While self-management was important, half of those with type 2 diabetes and more than two-thirds of those with type 1 did not get the care they needed, she said.

Original Source The Guardian

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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“Industrial scale” telehealth roll-out could benefit 3 million

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Plans announced by David Cameron have stated that the NHS is to rollout telehealth technologies on an “industrial scale” which could ultimately be of benefit to over 3 million patients.

The government’s new Life Sciences prospectus is aimed at developing a “world-leading system in technology adoption”, stating a commitment to removing the barriers to technology adoption and diffusion in the health service.

The NHS is expected to spend £750 million implementing the technology, reporting there is the overall potential to save an annual £1.2 billion. With regards to the patient experience, it is thought that the technology could significantly improve 3 million lives over the next five years.

The prospectus states that adoption of technologies that have been deemed “high impact” with demonstrated clinical effectiveness, such as telehealth, will be accelerated through the NHS. Once the “industrial scale” delivery had been completed, the NHS would be placed “at the forefront of the management of chronic disease globally”.

A five year business plan released by NHS Direct in June reported that services were to undergo “radical changes” and that patients across the NHS would be encouraged to self care through remote and virtual healthcare aids. At the time, NHS Direct chief executive Nick Chapman said “remotely delivered clinical services” could help to “manage the pressures on stretched primary and secondary healthcare” by reducing “avoidable demand on face-to-face services”.

David Cameron said telehealth, which allows patient health to be monitored by clinicians remotely through broadband enabled technologies, had proven to be a “huge success” after trials.

Rollout of telehealth systems would see monitoring devices set to be installed in millions of homes. The technology which allows patient health to be monitored by clinicians remotely through broadband enabled technologies has been deemed successful after a number of trials. The service enables patients with long term conditions, such as diabetes or heart conditions, to monitor their vital signs in their own homes. Fewer unnecessary interventions with clinicians are required, freeing up capacity in the service and ensuring the re-distribution of resources to where they are really needed.

NHS chief Sir David Nicholson said the NHS could make an “immediate start” on the “rapid spread of telehealth technology”.

Original Source Public Service

About Pathway Software

Pathway Software (www.pathwaysoftware.com) specialises in the design and development of patient information systems for Allied Health professionals.

Its flagship product, Therapy Manager, is an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system specifically designed for Therapy Services to provide decision makers with the ability to track and manage clinical activity and analyse cost of care by patient, episode or service. The system also demonstrably reduces administration time and the costs of managing Therapy Services.

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