Telecare Aware

An article just published on the UK’s Health Investor site is essential reading for anyone outside the UK who wants to start understanding what is going on. It also has food for thought for the rest of us. It begins:

The government sank £80 million in helping local authorities adopt preventative technology, and new consumer-led ways of buying services represent an unprecedented opportunity for growth in the sector. So why is the industry still struggling?

I’ll not spoil it for you by quoting more - hop over and read it soon. If you have trouble loading the page, you may need to register for a basic account first. [I don’t normally send readers to sites where they have to register, but in this case I make an exception.] Article: Cause for alarm: The telecare industry hasn’t grown as quickly as expected. What is holding it back?

The title of this item is an amusing example of a small company producing a press release headline that draws attention by ‘hopping on’ to a mainstream news theme. As it happens, the company, Hop-on Inc., produces a mobile phone that is geared to the older-people market, with GPS location and a panic alarm button button built in. It is called the ChitterChatter - although you will be pushed to find it on the Hop-on website.

I suspect many Telecare Aware readers will have reservations about the technology and the company’s gaming connections (see its home page). However, the company is nothing if not ambitious. CEO, Peter Michaels said, “Every consumer with medical needs should have this technology. It is affordable and costs less than one hour’s time for a hospice caretaker or nurse. Hop-on will make a pitch to Congress to give this phone away to seniors on Medi-Cal, so if an emergency happens, they will have the patient’s information, location, and nearest medical services, with the touch of one button.” Press release.

The British Standards Institute is currently inviting public comments on the draft of BS 8484, a standard for the management of lone worker protection services. The draft standard covers the provision of services using electronic monitoring and alarm techniques.

Although lone worker protection is not currently perceived as telecare, it could be argued that it is. In any case, many telecare and telehealth services are potential users of lone worker protection services for their own staff and some also provide these services for in-house and external staff. Here is an opportunity to shape the development of the relevant British Standard.

Information and alert from HPS Consulting.

For the second year now the NHS is underspending… so PCTs and NHS Trusts should have some money to invest in remote health monitoring to reduce future costs… Item from Healthcare Republic.

Article abstract: “The number of home telehealth programs implemented both domestically [US] and abroad and the number of peer-reviewed publications detailing positive outcomes for chronic disease management, preventive care, and self-management have increased over the past 5 years. The most dramatic growth has been in populations with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. A review of home telehealth developments, current status, opportunities, and challenges provides a foundation for understanding why we need to mainstream what we already know works.”

Item from Mary Ann Liebert, publishers. Look for the link beneath the ‘To cite this article…’ to download the full article.

Short Invicta press release charts another step in its growth.

The use of computers to keep aging brains alert is a new project at IBM-Israel, which has announced a collaboration with European Union partners. The three-year HERMES Cognitive Care for Active Aging project will be based on audio and visual processing and reasoning. A combination of home-based and mobile device-based systems are planned to help older people combat the natural reduction in cognitive capabilities; special focus will be put on developing a comfortable interface for older people with little or no computer experience. More interesting details in this item from the Jerusalem post.

Tangentially-related to telecare: there are a number of companies producing these kinds of in-sea tracking devices, but the author of this gCaptain blog item is clearly impressed with a new product from Mobilarm.

DON’T MISS THE LATEST NEWS
FREE ALERTS SERVICE KEEPS YOU UP TO DATE ON DEVELOPMENTS

Yes, I know you didn’t wake up this morning thinking “I must sign up for some more emails”, but if you want to be kept right up-to-date in the field of telecare and telehealth, you must… At least it is simple and painless! Enter your name and email address in the boxes below, click the ‘Notify Me’ button and you will get an email each time Telecare Aware is updated. I’ll never pass your details to anyone else and you can easily opt out.
Steve Hards