This is the simplest, clearest explanation I have seen of how remote patient health monitoring is managed in the NHS, what patients do, and its benefits. The 3.21 minute video on YouTube does not hide its Docobo origin, but that fact is not ‘in-your-face’.
This Guardian article, reporting on Edinburgh following Croydon’s example of setting up ‘virtual wards’ of people being cared for at home, is slow to get going but read on to where it gets into some of the detail. It’s a service that arises from a distinctly different culture to the ‘Doctor will see you now’ item below this. Read it here. And oh, someone has just realised the model could be applied to social care…
[Additional information following the above post, this month's sponsor, Project E-vita, pointed out that a client of theirs, Medihome, has been providing this kind of service for some NHS hospitals in London and South East England for a number of years. The NHS Department of Innovation and Improvement made a video about Medihome and Project E-vita as an example of an innovative way of delivering care to people. Medihome use the Project E-vita system to collect data about patients in their own home using MACIC, a PDA-based system that synchronises with the master record held on Project E-vita. Hospital consultants can then access patients' records and monitor their progress. Nurses even take images of wounds healing and upload these for observation. Medihome provides two distinct services to NHS hospitals: 'early discharge', saving costs on hospital occupancy, and an 'alternative admission' service where patients that might be admitted through the emergency department are intercepted and assessed for treatment in their own home.
There are three excellent videos showing the system in use that are accessible from the Medihome home page.
Interesting post (including video – Dutch commentary) about the use of the Bosch/Health Hero Health Buddy in the Netherlands. Bear in mind that the blog is that of Steve Brown, founder of the Health Hero Network but now on the board of directors of Agile Sports Technologies and BillionLights Foundation.
Headline Sananet results are:
30% reduction in hospitalization for heart failure patients in a telemedicine study from the University of Maastricht
Reduction in length of hospital stay for COPD patients from 13 days to 9 days on average in a telemedicine study from the University of Utrecht
In diabetes patients with an HbA1c of 8% or higher, a reduction in HbA1c of 1.5% compared to 0.6% in the control group in a study in Almere
One of the best moments from this astounding 12 minute video from CBS 60 Minutes. It’s not telehealth – yet – but definitely one for the Pointers to the Future category. (Plays after the advert.)
Radvision team writer Sagee Ben-Zedeff has taken the time to put together a useful overview of the use of various video technologies in telemedicine. A recommended read, with video links.
Portable telemedicine equipment clearly has great benefits in many situations, but does it have to be dressed up as a self-propelled robot?
That was my principal reaction after watching the video on the OffSite Care Inc. The video is a valiant but, to me, frustrating attempt to demonstrate these benefits. There are 9 minutes of testimonials about how good the system is before we get to see it in action, and then it seemed to be little more than a videoconferencing link. In my opinion, this particular video needs some tighter editing and some extra material that a) shows the experience of using it from the patient’s perspective and b) shows its superiority to a system that could be put, for presumably much lower cost, on a push-along trolley. View the 15½ minute video and judge for yourself.
On second thoughts, maybe I’m being too hard on OffSite Care, which is obviously working hard to make the world a better place. Perhaps it is the job of the robot manufacturer to make the above case. Sharp-eyed Telecare Aware readers may remember that this particular robot was featured in another story, on June 25. Search the site for ‘robot’ to find it.
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.
The US-based Guardian Alert 911 takes the panic alarm principle and cuts out the call centre, connecting owners directly to the emergency services. Taking this approach there’s an immediate saving for users as there are no monthly fees.
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.)
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.
Not telecare directly, but an excellent new website for older people which incorporates just about all the good advice on avoiding falling… funded by Philips Lifeline in the US. It includes a video on how to get up if you fall. Visit www.learnnottofall.com. Who will you recommend it to?
[OK - so how about saving all the millions being spent on 'falls prevention' projects and activities and use it to provide people with a cheap computer and broadband so they can access material like this and all the rest of the life saving and life changing information and networking that is now available to those who can afford it?]
Following my passing comment about Google Health last week, I thought you might be interested to watch this 50 minute video of Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt addressing the HIMSS conference in February. Amongst other interesting things, he points out how slowly doctors are realising what impact the internet is having – and will have – on healthcare delivery, and what Google is trying to do about it. (Google also likes the ‘predict and prevent’ approach.)
The video includes a demo of Google Health and its potential for linking to other systems. I predict that remote health monitoring companies that get in early to link their health monitoring systems are going to have a huge advantage.
The Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) describes itself as “leading the charge to expedite the development, evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies that will transform the aging experience.”
CAST has four focus areas:
driving a global vision of how technologies can improve the quality of life for seniors while reducing health care costs
accelerating technology research and development through pilot evaluations with seniors
advocating to remove barriers to the rapid commercialization of proven solutions
promoting dialogue about standards to ensure interoperability and widespread access to aging-services technologies
You will need to visit the CAST web page to view their videos, but it is worth the time as the main one is very well produced and presented. They also have a discussion document.
