The survey which was sent out to patients across 80 GP practices in Gloucestershire, asked each patient a series of questions about the impact of telehealth on the management of their health condition.
Of the 143 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 76 per cent of users felt telehealth gave them "peace of mind" and "reduced anxiety" about their condition. A further 65 per cent of patients said it helped them better manage their conditions and overall health and wellbeing.
Linda Prosser, commissioning director for NHS Gloucestershire said that telehealth complemented a range of services that NHS Gloucestershire provided to help people with long term conditions.
"It is playing a key role in empowering patients, helping them to understand and manage their condition whilst also reducing consultations, emergency call-outs and referrals to hospital. Both clinicians and patients are benefiting from the service, and it has the potential to help many more people in the future," she said.
Dr Will Haynes, a GP, said: "The beauty of telehealth is that it enables us to identify a potential deterioration of a patient's condition remotely. It helps patients to understand their own condition a lot better and allows the care system to be more proactive."
He added that telehealth enabled the NHS to pick up on issues at an earlier stage, allowing the patient to get on with things they wanted to do.
NHS Gloucestershire is looking to develop telehealth and open it up to a broader range of people, including patients with other complex issues such as neurological conditions, anxiety and learning disabilities.
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Quelle/Source: Public Service, 03.09.2012
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