Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 16-17 September 2013
e-Patient Connections 2013 brings together health communicators from different industries to compare and contrast the best ways to connect with empowered, digital patients. It focuses entirely on the ePatient and the Consumerism of Healthcare in examining innovative e-Patient communication platforms that lead to participatory medicine. Sponsored by ExL Events. Details and registration/pricing.
MyHomeHelper, a product for dementia clients to stay independent in their own homes, beat off competition from over 200 nominations to become one of three products selected as a finalist at this year’s Technology4Good awards. They are up against some big companies such as Barclays Bank and would appreciate votes for them on that page and, as tweets count in addition, they are also hoping for tweets about them using hashtag: #T4GMyHomeHelper.
“Technologies for Active Aging offers novel answers to a range of aging issues, from safety and mobility to cognition and continence. Written for the non-technical reader, the book examines the potential of information and communicative technologies such as pervasive computing, smart environments, and robotics to enhance seniors’ quality of life and encourage independent living, better care and self-care, and social participation.” We can’t give a recommendation as we have not read it, but it is edited by two respected people in the field: Andrew Sixsmith of Simon Fraser University, and Gloria Gutman of the Gerontology Research Centre, both based in Vancouver. Technologies for Active Aging (PDF flyer). US Amazon link. UK Amazon link.
24 September 2013, Manchester, UK
We were just about to give you, Dear Reader, a heads-up on the Community Led Care – Meeting Needs Closer to Home conference when the organisers came through with a £45 public sector members discount, especially for you. The conference will cover:
Click here for full details. To receive the Telehealth and Telecare Aware discount, enter TELEPUB in the appropriate box when registering online or mention it if booking by phone: +44 (0)161 831 7111 (Ask for Christopher Sheridan on ext 282)
Someone who attended the Health+Care 2013 Show in London this week alerted us to Yecco, saying “One bright spot was Yecco, a new entrant to the market, with a fresh, consumer focussed aim of meeting the needs of both carers and cared for, people of all ages, grandparents and grandchildren. All the staff seemed to have personal experience of helping dementia patients, as well as offering new technology-based communications between family, cared for and carers.” The cheery video below explains it. Yecco website – with some worthwhile offers, too.
[This video is no longer available on this site but may be findable via an internet search]The Saga (nothing to do with the UK company of the same name) smartphone app takes journal-keeping to an entirely new level, that is without input by you. It takes data behind the scenes from your smartphone and tries to make some sense of it. For example, you visit lots of burger bars…you must like burgers (unless you are a hygiene inspector, of course). So is it, as the developer claims in the 9 minute video below, the next evolution of memory, for which we will all become grateful or is it just creepy that people would want all that activity logged automatically? Saga app website FAQ page (as the home page is very bland). Hat tip to Toni Bunting.
Switzerland-based company STBL Medical Research AG has developed a new ‘blood pressure watch’ that relies on a wristband made from piezo-resistive fibres. These fibres measure the contact pressure of the device on the skin to overcome the problem of the device slipping on the wrist or muscle tension that can affect the measurements. The device is currently undergoing clinical trials. Piezo-resistive fibers enable “blood pressure watch” with continuous monitoring Gizmag – note the comments too.
“Inspiring, intriguing and thought provoking.” Hat tip to Roy Lilley.
[This video is no longer available on this site but may be findable via an internet search]The seventh of 15 expected academic papers arising from the study of the Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme has just been published in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy. The big takeaway is that local ‘ownership’ of new services DID lead to more collaborative practices across the care system BUT that the concept of whole system redesign around remote care is currently unrealistic. With headings such as ‘Misalignment between vision and enactment’, ‘Wider barriers’ and ‘Whole system working: Ambiguity and diversity’ one can see that the underlying analysis is more nuanced than the main conclusion might suggest. Stimulating whole system redesign: Lessons from an organizational analysis of the Whole System Demonstrator programme by Theopisti Chrysanthaki1, Jane Hendy and James Barlow, all of Imperial College, London is also available as a free 10-page PDF download.
A complete list of the WSD papers, updated as they are published, is being maintained here by Mike Clark, to whom thanks for the heads-up on this publication.
A month ago we brought you a preview of some of the telehealth and telecare elements of the Health + Care conference taking place in London today. For readers interested in keeping an eye on what is happening there The Guardian is running a live blog. There is also a press release from Tunstall.
The Guardian now has an extended version of the pre-event video (4 minutes) that demonstrates some of the technologies more thoroughly. How technology can be used in health and social care. Worth watching for its update. Hat tip to Mike Clark.
The gruelling GB ROW 2013 race event, where six crews of four people row 2000 miles around Britain unaided for 26 days in an attempt to break the world record, started on 1 June. One of the teams, The Islanders, is being sponsored by telehealth supplier inHealthcare which is helping team member and medic Alan Morgan to monitor his blood pressure and oxygen saturation readings to see how his body is responding to the challenge. No physical contact with support vessels or the shore is allowed. The race is not just a battle for the world record but a battle against the pain barrier as the four men overcome muscle pain, blisters and exhaustion. More info on inHealthcare’s sponsorship. Hour-by-hour updates on the teams and how they are coping.
Related TTA item: Telefonica sponsors diabetic’s Everest climb.
DocCom, which we reported in February, has developed hospital-based social networking software and has been awarded a grant of £207,000 by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to accelerate its development, has now been put on the UK Government’s latest cloud procurement framework for cloud-based services, G-Cloud iii. Procurement frameworks make it quicker and easier for organisations such as NHS bodies to place orders with preferred providers because they do not have to apply the governance disciplines, or incur the costs, of competitive tendering each time. Press release.
Please see the update added to the original item: Specialist housing does not reflect what most older people want (UK)
GP Online already has a long reach into the consciousness of UK GPs and now the publishers have launched a new website focusing on commissioning matters. For any telehealth companies or organisations that want to win the hearts and minds of GP commissioners, this new site will surely be one to nourish with good information and, possibly, advertising. www.insidecommissioning.co.uk
The W/Me wristband developed by California-based (where else?) Phyode turns colors based on key physical manifestations of mood, with the goal of helping wearers control them. It translates the data it collects into three scores: mental state, agility, and ANS age readable on a smartphone via Bluetooth. Mental state can be either passive, excitable, pessimistic, anxious, or ideally, balanced somewhere in the middle. Since this Editor can see exceptions in places like NYC and LA, one wonders if they are on a different scale. Perfect for your favorite QS-er along with their Jawbone or FitBit. W/Me is on Kickstarter and oversubscribed for a ship date of August. Articles: PSFK/Boehringer Ingelheim blog, TechCrunch. Hat tip to TANN Ireland’s Toni Bunting.
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