Telehealth Headlines
From Telehealth
This page captures some of the big-ticket news items on telehealth. For a summary of all news related to telehealth and telecare, check out Telecare Aware
14th July 2009 - Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2008-09
This report covers research and development work carried out by or on behalf of any government department in relation to equipment that might increase the range and independence of older and disabled people. It outlines the role of assistive technology in making independent living easier and describes the range of government-funded projects supporting the development, introduction and evaluation of assistive technology. Relevant projects funded by the EU have also been included. Read here
13th March 2009 - Telehealthcare project details published
The 12 projects being run alongside the UK’s biggest ever trial of assistive technologies are testing a range of telehealth and telecare innovations, according to a report.
Details of the projects being carried out by the Whole System Demonstrator Action Network, a group of 12 PCTs supporting the WSD project, have been published by the King’s Fund, which is running the network.Read here
24th February 2009 - Evaluation of the Telecare Development Programme
The Evaluation of the Telecare Development Programme commissioned by the Joint Improvement Team (JIT) and undertaken by York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) was launched at the Telecare/Telehealth Conference on 24th February 2009. You can access the executive summary here
28th January 2009 - With more healthcare IT, physicians more prepared to manage patients with chronic diseases
A survey of over 6000 clinicians’ in seven developed countries (published by the Commonwealth Fund) showed that their adoption of health information technology was highly variable. Yet physicians with greater IT capacity were more likely to report feeling well prepared to manage patients with chronic diseases, among other benefits. View the report: Health Information Technology and Physician Perceptions of Quality of Care and Satisfaction
6th January 2009 - US Case study shows that home telehealth supports care for veterans with chronic diseases
Between July 2003 and December 2007, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), a section of the US Department for Veterans Affairs (VA) introduced a national home telehealth program - Care Coordination/Home Telehealth (CCHT). The December 2008 edition of the journal, Telemedicine and eHealth, includes a case study reviewing the outcomes of the CCHT programme for 17,025 VA patients with chronic conditions. Read the case study.
VHA’s implementation of CCHT replicates the findings of previous smaller-scale pilots of home telehealth to provide care to patients with chronic diseases on a far larger scale, and shows it is a practical and cost-effective means of caring for populations of patients with chronic disease that is acceptable to both patients and clinicians. The study also shows that implementation of CCHT into routine practice on a large-scale enterprise level has substantial benefits - to patients in redefining the location of care as the home, and to a healthcare organisation in reduced costs and cost avoidance.
12th December 2008 - Report on EC telemedicine workshop (from WoHIT '08)
EC Workshop, Procuring for Health Benefits: Critical factors for beneficial deployment of innovative eHealth and telemedicine services
The European Commission’s ICT for Health unit has released a report from its November ‘procuring for health benefits’ telehealth workshop. According to EHI, The European Commission plans to use the findings of the workshop to inform their planned development of large-scale telemedicine deployments in 2009. The findings will also be incorporated into a 'guide to procurement' for telemedicine.
The main procurement models presented at the workshop were:
- Formal large-scale procurement for telemedicine equipment and services – NHS CfH England
- Regional procurement of a large-scale application of a remote telemonitoring service supported by a range of self-standing pilots to expand patient and client experience of the new approaches as the procurement exercise is taken forward – Northern Ireland
- Local development of telemedicine and services equipment, with a plan to scale-up – Catalan
- Procure for emarketplace with local call-off – Odense, Denmark
4th November 2008 - European Commission adopts plans to help doctors and patients access healthcare from a distance.
Today, the European Commission adopted a Communication to support and improve access to telemedicine for EU citizens and healthcare professionals across Europe, proposing 10 actions to address the challenges in years to come.
The primary actions proposed by the Commission are to:
- increase confidence and acceptance of telemedicine services among users. In particular, by encouraging provision and dissemination of scientific evidence of its effectiveness and cost effectiveness.
- bring legal clarity on existing EU legislation regarding telemedicine services and encourage Member States to improve provision of telemedicine services.
- solve technical problems such as the lack of adequate community-wide broadband infrastructure and interoperability of telemedicine devices. This Communication defines the necessary steps to be taken by Member States, the European Commission and stakeholders including healthcare providers and the industry.
27th October 2008 - A new telehealth age dawns
Forrester Research estimates that "the market [in the USA] for remote personal health monitoring will reach $5 billion in 2010 and explode to $34 billion by 2015." For further details on this and first- and second-wave telehealth technologies, read the article on EE Times.
18th September 2008 - TSB announces £10m funding to bring healthcare closer to the community
The Technology Strategy Board is to help fund £25 million of research and development into new technologies that will help to bring healthcare closer to the community. The twenty-two innovative research and development projects aim to improve healthcare provision by bringing medical diagnosis, condition monitoring and care and analytical capabilities closer to patients. The Technology Strategy Board will invest £10 million in the projects, with the balance provided by the British companies involved in the research.
For further details, see the TSB press release: New Technology Will Bring Healthcare Closer to the Community
12th September 2008 - TSB press release on details of ALIP projects
With a total investment of £11m (half from the TSB and DH, and half from participating companies), ALIP includes nine separate projects.
28th August 2008 - SCIE publishes 'Assistive Technology for Older People'
Assistive Technology for Older People published by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).
Implications for policy makers
"To increase the evidence for the development and use of AT, policy makers should continue to promote further research and local monitoring activities. A key component of the research agenda should be further work both to increase understanding of the acceptability of AT for people who use services, and to address the ways in which people are being prevented from using AT.
There are also indications that there may be geographical inequalities in user access to AT. Policy makers should explore current differences between health and social care partnerships in the ways in which they determine client eligibility for packages of care supported by AT and, as a result, whether there is a need to develop a standardised national approach for determining eligibility."
26th August 2008 - OJEU Notice published for NI national telehealth procurement
OJEU notice published for Northern Ireland's national procurement of remote monitoring solutions to support chronic disease management. Approximate value: £46m.
10th July 2008 - Health Informatics Report published
The Health Informatics Report commissioned by the NHS Chief Executive and the Department of Health Permanent Secretary, has been taking place alongside the Next Stage Review. It describes how informatics is supporting the NHS, along with extensive research, planning and management, enabling patients to make better and more informed choices about healthcare.
The report will be followed by a more detailed, technically-based Health Informatics Review implementation report in autumn 2008, which will contain information about how we will work with the local NHS to ensure the recommendations are taken forward.
9th July 2008 - Launch of Whole System Demonstrator Action Network
The Department of Health-funded Whole System Demonstrator Action Network (WSDAN) was launched by the Health Minister Ivan Lewis on 9th July. WSDAN brings together the evidence associated with assistive technologies in integrating care to people with long-term conditions. It supports 10-12 pro-active partnership in action research partnerships. You can register for free at WSDAN.
1st July 2008 - Open Health Tools announces the Supply Chain for Healthcare Initiative
Led by International Technology Group, Inc., the mission of the Supply Chain Tooling project is to create a set of open source tools allowing providers of Supply Chain Solutions for Healthcare and various Healthcare organisations to synchronise and enhance medical product information between all supply chain participants. The tools will also categorise and attributise medical product information for providing supply chain optimisation services to their clients.
The charter for the Supply Chain Tooling project was approved by Open Health Tools board of stewards on July 1st 2008.
30th June 2008 - Lord Darzi's final report 'Higher Quality Care for All' published
The Department of Health’s NHS Next Stage Review, led by Lord Darzi's final report on 'Higher Quality Care for All' presents an initiative for how services will continue to expand and develop. It is a ten year vision of a continuously improving service, where essential standards are guaranteed and excellence is rewarded.
Whilst telecare and telehealth do not get a specific mention in the report, the agenda implies a significant and enhanced role for new assistive technologies, and greater future investment in telecare and telehealth products. Indeed, the Review highlights how 'the NHS will not be confined to hospitals, health centres or GP surgeries but will be available online and in people’s homes', with 'remote health monitoring enabled by wireless and bluetooth technologies'.
The report and accompanying documents can be found at: www.ournhs.nhs.uk
November 2007 - Launch of ALIP
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) launched the Assisted Living Innovation Platform (ALIP). The purpose of ALIP is to significantly advance the technology needed to meet the demand for independent living from people suffering from chronic long-term health conditions. Against a backdrop of an ageing population, the Innovation Platform seeks to consider the requirements for improving quality of life, and wellbeing, and also to address the societal challenges raised by health conditions that require a preventative approach.
