The pilot scheme involved 31 participants and used equipment from Tunstall, a provider of telehealth solutions. The scheme has successfully improved the quality of life for patients with long term conditions and has freed up valuable NHS resources, resulting in 133 hospital days and 117 nursing hours saved to date, in addition to cost and time savings for GPs, practice and community nurses.
The monitor enables patients to measure their own temperature, pulse oxymetry, heart and breathing rates, ECG and non-invasive blood pressure. It then records the results and transmits them over a phone line to a secure server where they are saved as an electronic patient record, accessible by the clinician or project nurse.
A further benefit of the monitor is if a patient connects to measure their vital signs and exceeds the pre - set clinical parameters, an automatic alert is sent to the monitoring centre where trained operators will take the most appropriate course of action, for example notifying a patient's clinician.
The clinical research highlights the positive impact of telemedicine in supporting independence and improving quality of life, by enabling people to receive the support they need in their own home. Increased involvement in their own management gives patients a better understanding of their condition, resulting in increased reassurance and reducing the need for GP visits.
75% of people receiving telemedicine-based treatment did not require GP visits during the 12-month pilot period. Offering a more flexible approach to care, the telemedicine monitors gave patients rapid access to expert assessment and diagnosis when required, yet also helped to preserve dignity and independence when no intervention was required.
Telemedicine was also deployed in a nursing home setting, where it enabled 67% of residents to receive the care and support they needed on the premises, eliminating unnecessary intervention and saving 127 hospital bed days and 112 nursing hours.
The research adds further weight to the Department of Health's advice that telehealth has huge potential to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and improve people's quality of life, an approach supported by its March 2005 "National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions".
Richard Pellant, Operational Buildings Manager at Medway Council welcomed the clinical research, saying: "These results highlight the potential for telemedicine to help the pre-assessment process by aiding primary care and decreasing costly hospital care involvement."
"In one specific instance, the telemedicine monitor was used to collect data from a patient with cardiac problems which were used by a local hospital consultant to organise a complete hip replacement procedure without the need for a lengthy pre-operative assessment - saving NHS resources as well as delivering a more flexible model of care."
Medway's pioneering approach to dealing with long term conditions is an example of how councils and healthcare providers can use the Government's £80m Preventative Technologies Grant (PTG) funding to deploy innovative telecare and telehealth technology to enhance and maintain the well being, self-esteem and independence of individuals.
The purpose of the grant is to develop long term sustainable service delivery improvements by using low level support to prevent later crises, maintaining well being and avoiding more costly care. Telecare and telehealth solutions can support older people and enable them to live safely and securely at home for longer, reducing avoidable admissions to residential care and hospital.
Quelle: Publictechnology, 21.03.2006
