Ageing population, significant increase in chronic diseases and limited financial and manpower resources are common challenges faced by healthcare systems across the world. “We need to change,” said Newman.
Read more: GB: World’s largest telehealth and telecare project
ESPO, on behalf of Pro5, a collaboration between four buying organisations, has developed a framework with three lots; telehealth and telecare equipment; managed services and consultancy services. The framework enables anyone in the public sector to buy telehealth and telecare solutions using an easy, cost effective purchasing route.
Read more: GB: BT's Telehealth and Telecare services available through new framework
While the report, Better with less: delivering local public services in the digital age, does highlight a number of individual instances of good practice, it found that overall levels of implementation across the 30 authorities it spoke to were ‘patchy’ and that few authorities could demonstrate good practice across all their digital activities.
Read more: GB: Councils falling behind on implementing digital projects
Miller says she is excited about the prospect of a commission: “Technology has become so much a part of how people work these days, not just an IT issue, it’s a business issue.”
She says the commission will allow MPs to think through the impact of current technology practices and future trends.
Read more: GB: CIO interview: Joan Miller director of Parliamentary ICT
Making judgments about telehealth soon after its luanch is like saying that Gareth Malone's choirs were hopeless after their first rehearsal, says Dick Vinegar.
This time last year, telehealth was riding high. On the back of the initial favourable report of the "Whole Systems Demonstrator" in Kent, Cornwall and West Ham, which tracked the progress of about 3,000 patients monitored by telehealth, the Department of Health launched its 3millionlives initiative.