North of England-based Tynetec [a Telecare Aware sponsor] has announced another year of spectacular growth. The pattern established in the previous financial year, when turnover grew by more than 25%, has been matched in the year to June 2008. Details in this press release.
UK Government Health Minister Lord Darzi (who recently produced High quality care for all on the future shape of the NHS -comment with link to the report) is shown in this video endorsing the move towards remote patient monitoring, using a heart patient and a person with COPD as examples.
4mins 46 seconds video features services at Southampton and Nottingham.
BBC News report from West Bromwich, UK, on an ordinary Victorian house that has been converted to accommodate almost every electronically controlled device you can think of, linked to a system that responds to the owner’s movements. This does deserve to be called a ’smart home’ unlike those that are just ‘telecare enabled’. (See Soapbox item: Telecare ‘Smart Homes’ Nowhere Near Smart Enough.)
Bed blocking in NHS hospitals got worse last year and was responsible for an estimated million lost hospital days, according to a recent survey reported in the Telegraph. There is still obviously huge scope for telehealth/telecare providers to effect cost reductions, despite the possibility that the Preventative Technology Grant could have been used for the past two years to help tackle this problem.
Hmm… did I hear someone suggest that perhaps we should have a national study to see if telehealth technologies can demonstrate a positive effect on the whole health and social care system?
The Silver Life Institute, based in Paris, is a research organisation that aims (amongst other things) to:
encourage consideration of ideas and questions in relation to society and old age
diffuse knowledge from research into technology, economics, medical and social sciences
propagate ideas or initiatives in the arena of public opinion
stir up the widest possible debate
It is telecare/telehealth oriented and has an active membership, newsletter and programme of meetings in France. It also has a London-based UK representative, Mona Vandame. She tells me that UK meetings are held in English.
Many press releases in this field are self-aggrandising and/or bland beyond bearing, but the following two hit an all time low of incompetence verging on farce.
The first, by diabetes-monitoring company XTend has the subheading ‘Company Begins Telemedicine Program With U.K. University’. The body of the press release, which is just an Xtended advertisement, completely omits to refer to the university, let alone name it!
The second, by Vocollect Healthcare Systems, attributes the following to its President, James Quasey:
“Facilities in long-term care will benefit from the partnership between our two organizations by having the ability to customize the best solution to support facility-wide, resident-centered services at the point-of-care. For TeleHealth Services, the strategic relationship empowers the company to productively evolve according to the changing needs of its customer base, which is a perfect complement to its customer service-based mission.”
As I’m much to charitable to believe that Mr Quasey really talks like that, I assume it was a quote written by a copy writer with a reverse-plain-English button on his or her word processor, and that someone else approved it.
Article and associated video (TV news item) showing the WebVNU Remote Nurse[annoying pre-video advert alert] in action as deployed by the VNA Care Network in Massachusetts.
Alcatel-Lucent is searching for a US service provider partner to help deliver a new telehealth application it developed with Canadian carrier SaskTel. The service, known as LifeStat remote monitoring and health management, allows patients with chronic health conditions to transmit their own health information to a network-based analysis tool to help them and their doctors monitor and control their condition. Read full item in TelephonyOnline.
Alcatel-Lucent website. LifeStat website.
Further to the Intel Health Guide story in the previous postings, I’m including this because it’s the only item I’ve seen that cast doubts on the viability of the business model. Be aware that the item is stuffed with annoying links to marginally relevant adverts. From CRM Buyer.
Southeastern Regional Medical Center (SRMC) has received a $159,873 grant from The Duke Endowment to implement a telehealth patient monitoring and communication system. Short news item from the Feyetteville Observer.
US Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced the House and Senate’s successful override of President Bush’s veto of H.R. 6331 the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (reported in Telecare Aware 25 June). The Act is intended to improve patients’ access to quality, affordable health care and encourages the introduction of e-prescribing and telehealth services. Senator’s press release.
The system, called Health Guide, integrates vital sign collection, patient reminders, multimedia educational content and feedback and communications tools such as video conferencing and e-mail. It can connect to specific models of wired and wireless medical devices, including blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. It also stores and displays the collected information on a touch screen and sends it to a secure host server, where healthcare professionals can review the information.
Intel expects the Health Guide to be available from healthcare providers in the United States and the United Kingdom later this year or early next. Press release from Reuters.
As telemedicine, telehealth and telecare providers get sucked along in the updraft of the digital trend in health care provision, the provocative conference report and the many comments that have become appended to this E-Health Insider Primary Care item may interest many Telecare Aware readers.
In another indication that telehealth companies are starting to to drive the telecare market, t+Medical has followed up its expansion into the US market by acquiring Vivatec in the UK. According to the press release, its aim in doing so is to be able to offer ‘an integrated solution covering medical devices, communication technology and nurse call centres to its customers.’
Abingdon (Oxford) based t+Medical specialises in the use of mobile phone technology in healthcare and Vivatec, one of the suppliers on the PASA Telecare National Framework Agreement, and best known for its WristCare product, has expanded recently through a series of alliances to provide a wider range of services.
Tim Clover, CEO of t+ Medical Holdings and Andrew Hall, founder and Managing Director of Vivatec, said that the synergy between the two companies will provide an ideal base from which to deliver further benefits from the use of mobile telephones in healthcare.
