Telecare Aware

Kevin puts the following article into context for Telecare Aware readers: “It’s follow-up to a presentation to over 100 young engineers and computer scientists earlier this year. They have lots of exciting ideas on how technology can support older people but little knowledge of the softer issues such as intrusion, ethics, consent and acceptability of gadgets and gizmos. Therefore, the introduction of chatbots (as virtual friends) is not presented as something necessarily worth doing - but rather as an example of an application that should be questioned before someone goes ahead and introduces it.”

Thought-provoking material in this article for Computing and Control.

Two related stories from the UK, followed by two from the US.

First, picking up on a briefing by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), both the Telegraph and Times featured telecare stories this week.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the message has become slightly mangled: “At least £5 million of private and public money is being invested in the technology, which is being supported by the Department of Health’s Prevention [sic] Technology Grant.” (Telegraph)

Readers’ comments on the Times’ article indicate that the positives of the telecare message are easy to miss.

Telegraph: Computerised home care for elderly developed

Times: Elderly to be cared for by ‘clever homes’

Compare the above with the following two human-interest stories:

Monitoring device offers peace of mind

Brief, well-written item on telehealth monitoring. Daily News (Los Angeles)

Diabetic veteran uses new program, electronics to manage his health (US)

Excellent human-interest story describing one person’s experience of changing his diet as a result of telehealth monitoring. Gloucester Times.

Who’ll look after me when I’m old?

Not telecare directly, but a hard look at the problems facing UK social services. This BBC article describes the context with which telecare suppliers are still struggling when it comes to working with councils.

Eligibility criteria depriving older people of gain services: thresholds on the rise

More on the same theme, but does reference telecare, from Community Care magazine.

No wonder Tunstall is looking eastwards for future expansion. (Item below.)

Tunstall is partnering with The Chinese Evergreen Association, which has 16 years experience in providing community care to older and disabled people in Taiwan, to launch their Evercare service. Over the next few years, Evercare will be extended to over 500,000 users in Taiwan. Story from Wireless Healthcare.

Telehealth has emerged as one of the fastest growing areas in modern medicine. The SFT conference series provides a forum which explores both successes and failures in telehealth. 7th Annual International Conference, 27 - 28 August 2007, Queensland, Australia. Registration: AU$700.

Rather short notice, but of interest to people who can make it to Birmingham on 11 and/or 12 and/or 13 July. See web page for details and register by clicking on the appropriate seminar link. i-Health Network.

Scotty Group PLC has sold its telehealth activities to Zydacron Holding Ltd for £5.3 million in a management buy-out led by two former directors of the company, Georg Weber and Andreas Boedenauer. Zydacron was Scotty’s telehealth arm in the Netherlands. News item.  Zydacron website.

Two stories that show how a supplier’s need to promote itself can be best met by being genuinely informative.

Remote ECG Telemedicine System Supports Urgent Treatment Centre (UK)

“The service has already proven effective in saving lives. Recently, when a patient attended [Bridgwater Community Hospital] having fallen and sustained a fractured wrist, the nurse practitioner identified a slow heart rate and performed a 12 lead ECG, which indicated a profound bradycardia with heart block. Broomwell’s service confirmed the ECG as a complete heart block and the patient was transferred directly to the acute hospital’s coronary care unit for pacing. Without this service and the astute observation of the nurse practitioner the heart block could possibly have been overlooked with potentially devastating outcomes. Full story from Wireless Healthcare.

Telehealth provides daily monitoring (US)

“I am a nurse but I don’t live close by,” granddaughter Koreina Franklin said. “…That Telehealth contact makes sure she is taking her blood pressure. It is almost like having a nurse in the home. She used to call me and I would go over there. My mom and dad both work full time jobs and I have a busy young family. This unit makes it so much easier. We don’t worry about my grandmother nearly as much. Only in dire circumstances does Amedisys contact the doctor’s office.”
Full story from Van Buren Press Argus-Courier.

Since launching the telehealth service, 26 hospital admissions have been prevented in just four months, according to the Tunstall press release as Milton Keynes PCT and the Community Alarm Service move into telehealth.

Responding to the needs of Europe’s growing ageing population, the Commission has adopted a European Action Plan for “Ageing Well in the Information Society”. This Action Plan is accompanied by a new joint European research programme raising to over €1bn the research investment on information and communications technologies (ICT) targeted at improving the life of older people at home, in the workplace and in society in general. eGovMonitor reports the story.

A Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare article by James Barlow, Debbie Singh, Steffen Bayer and Dick Curry. Read the abstract/purchase the article here.

Ahome4it has launched a website featuring a new digitally controlled secure system for providing door entry keys to authorised visitors. It comprises three components:
• a tough, intelligent digital key box
• a database of registered users, systems & expected delivery events
• a remote code generation engine

The digital key box needs no wiring to communication networks and is battery powered so installation is kept simple. Authorised carers are given a code when they need to gain access and they input it using a numerical access control keypad.
Ahome4it’s Key4care website.

UK readers will have seen media publicity about this report. For their reference, and other people’s information, here’s the link to the Alzheimer’s Society report page which contains full information and link to a downloadable version.

Oxford-based Toumaz Technology Limited has announced it has achieved a major commercial milestone with the delivery and successful testing of its integrated Sensium platform. It provides a solution to covering the ‘last metre’ and connects the mobile individual via any existing network to a healthcare provider via ‘digital plasters’. The platform incorporates an improved ultra-low power wireless transceiver, reconfigurable sensor interface and low power processor and memory on a single 4 x 4 mm chip. The new integrated systems are being made available to Toumaz’s healthcare and pharmaceutical customers for trials from the beginning of March. They allow the remote monitoring of vital signs and other bio-markers [interesting jargon] from mobile individuals in real-time, via standard PDAs, cellphones and USB-enabled computers. Powered by low-cost, low profile
batteries, one or more Sensium-enabled “digital plasters” can continuously monitor multiple key physiological parameters.

A good read for telecare futurology buffs.

The democratic process produces contrary policies that will affect the development of home-based monitoring in the state. Utah Deseret Morning News item.