New telecare and telehealth purchasing framework to stitch up the UK market for four years

As flagged up in TTA last October, [start here and follow the links back] The Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) has now issued a tender for a telehealth and telecare systems framework agreement. It will run for four years and comprises three ‘lots’:

  1. A single online shop for products (and possibly services): “products included in the catalogue can be updated, increased or revised at any time in response to innovations in the market place and evolving client needs”
  2. Managed service provision: “a list of proven, specialist suppliers who are able to undertake this for [service commissioners]. This may include some or all of: service user assessment, equipment supply, service monitoring, and response…we intend to restrict the number of suppliers…to approximately 6[Emphasis ours]
  3. Consultancy services: “a list of suitably experienced consultants who are able to provide specialist advice to commissioners on the topics of telecare and telehealth”

Editorial comment

The EU and UK laws on tendering for supplies and services are extremely burdensome on suppliers and commissioners alike but (more…)

June Telecare LIN newsletter published (UK)

In a content-packed edition of this newsletter one 6-page item stands out for special attention. It’s Mike Clark’s ‘summary’ of telehealth, called Telehealth, how are we doing? which begins on page 17. Mike turns his laser-like attention on the UK’s telehealth issues including those arising from the WSD programme results and orders them into an easy-to-read logical sequence and draws some measured conclusions. It’s a pity it is not available as a standalone report for wider circulation. June Telecare LIN newsletter (PDF) plus separate news item list supplement (PDF)

One of the links in the newsletter is to the Department of Health’s 2013-14 Corporate Plan which includes a list of its achievements for 2012-13. Search it as much as you like for any telehealth-related keywords, you will not find any. It looks like DH has brushed it off its hands and moved on. Which, given its recent toxic-touch history may not be a bad thing.

Hampshire hedges its bets on telecare providers (UK)

TTA flagged up last July that Hampshire County Council was tendering for a ‘strategic partner’ to deliver a telecare service on its behalf and that the result would be known in May, so this by way of an update. What we learn from a Tunstall press release is that Hampshire has staked it all on the ‘Argenti Telehealthcare Partnership’ – a consortium of providers led by PA Consulting (Wikipedia) and which comprises Tunstall, O2, CareCalls, Medvivo and Magna Careline. [Just when we thought the UK telecare scene was becoming boring – it will be interesting to hear how these rivals learn to pull together to deliver the comprehensive, efficient service for which the people of Hampshire have been waiting for many years.]

London Telecare group: new advertising initiative (UK)

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/londontelecare-jun13.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The London Telecare group (an association of telecare provider services around the capital) has a long history of generating publicity for telecare via bus shelter spots donated by the advertising industry. [TTA July 2006] Now it is moving into print with an advert to appear on June 23rd in the Mail on Sunday’s ‘Senior Lifestyles’ supplement, covering the London and Carlton TV areas. John Chambers, for London Telecare, says “There are very few companies or organisations creating awareness of the telecare and telehealth services available from local authorities and the private sector. Without advertising, it’s no surprise that the public is still largely unaware…that’s something we have tried to turn around and, with very limited resources, our London and South East members have supported our poster campaigns in the past, which gained over £2m in media value using free unsold sites. Now we have devised a press advertisement designed to make people aware of what’s available. We hope that others will take note and follow our lead with greater resources and, hopefully, government funding. ‘Everyone should know!'”

UK housing providers’ telecare alarms funding crisis

For years, many providers of specialist accommodation for older people, social housing or people with other needs have been offering panic alarm/telecare services funded wholly or in part from the public purse, particularly through Supporting People funding, which has now been cut off. This has left the housing providers with practical, financial and ethical dilemmas as highlighted a month ago in the comments on this TTA item: Supporting People funding reductions – telecare panic. Now specialist housing consultancy Support Solutions reframes the question and re-imagines the solution: Funding Alarms & Proactive Communication Systems for Vulnerable People.

Telecare ‘Which?’ support grows (UK)

Yes, it’s a bit of a trade puff for the Telecare EPG, and we don’t usually do ‘we-have-a-new-customer’ items, but it is good to note that 12 local authorities in the North East have signed a licence agreement so that they can access this source of independent, subscriber-funded device comparison information. Neil Revely of Sunderland City Council is reported as saying “…Matching the service user with the best technology is becoming an increasingly difficult task. The Telecare EPG will give prescribers the tools and knowledge to take advantage of new developments…” T-Cubed news item.

February Telecare LIN newsletter published (UK)

Out now, the February edition of the Telecare LIN newsletter. It, together with the separate supplement, contains “over 1200 news and events links over the last month” and a reminder that if you have not registered for the ALIP showcase event in Liverpool on 5/6 March or the Healthcare Innovation Expo on 13/14 March you need to act quickly. The newsletter has more details. PDF newsletter. Links supplement. NHS reforms supplement.

‘The big picture’, minus hype, of mobile in health

Refreshingly free of hype, and in fact rather dry, is the commentary of  Deborah Estrin, professor of computer science at Cornell NYC Tech (soon to be your Editor’s neighbor), at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston chaired by Google’s Vint Cerf. Essentially any phone can be a data platform; her focus is on converting apps to data streams, gauging frequency of use and GPS data for movement. Sensibly, she advises ‘scaling down’ apps to make them useful to individual patients. Undoubtedly she’s read the statistics on abandoned apps, estimated at about 95%–and that most everyone uses the same old apps, Google, Facebook, YouTube, Gmail etc. for about the same time as in 2011. But then she goes into how mobile can keep track of ‘digital exhaust’ a/k/a pollution…. Mobile Devices Linked to Better Health (BioScienceTechnology.com)  App Usage Has Stalled As Smartphone Users Hit Burnout (Business Insider)

O2 Health appoints new managing director (UK)

O2 Health has announced the appointment of Nikki Flanders as its managing director. Nikki has previously led O2’s 4G LTE strategy, developing awareness and understanding of 4G LTE, which offers superfast connectivity. She has previously worked for Centrica, WHSmith and Marks & Spencer, and has co-founded two health related charities, having had first-hand experience of how technology can help support healthcare as a mother who has used technology in the management of her son’s care during his early months. Nikki plans to accelerate O2 Health’s growth in the UK as part of Telefónica Digital, a global business unit of O2’s parent company. She replaces Keith Nurcombe, who has left Telefónica. [Press release on O2 Health website.]

Two free reports

Here are two free reports you should consider downloading.

First, The Center for ConnectedHealth’s 2007 Progress Report. Good if you want a wide-ranging look at current remote health monitoring and care delivery trends in the US. [And in Second Life…I wonder if not being able to fly or grow a tail count as health problems in that virtual world?] Interesting stuff, and you can download it from this page on the Center’s website.

Second, there’s the S2S (Strategies to Solutions) discussion paper, called Technology to Support the Ageing Global Population 2007 to 2027. It is 25 pages of balanced, well written information that ranges over assistive technology [a term used in its broad sense – compare with this post] including health- and care-related AT, and highlights various issues for society and emerging technology. You have to join the S2S mailing list to get it, but don’t let that put you off. Get it here.

Telecare and telehealth coming together in Norfolk (UK)

With a bit of editing and a slightly revamped commentary this video could become a useful introduction to telecare and telehealth for the public. However, people who know me will anticipate that I have a huge problem with Norfolk’s conflation of ‘assistive technology’ with telecare and telehealth, hence I’ve also categorised the video under ‘terminology’.

Let’s get this straight: ‘assistive technology’ is a very broad term for any equipment that helps compensate for some form of functional impairment. Or, as the Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST) defines it, “Assistive Technology (AT) is any product or service designed to enable independence for disabled and older people.” A few shots at the beginning of the video imply that they understand this, but it soon slips into referring to the telecare and telehealth as AT. Although can be regarded as a subset of AT, there is no implication that AT has a remote component in any way, which is the key defining characteristic of telecare, telehealth, telemedicine, etc. When I was contracted to work at the Department of Health I frequently reminded civil servants and Ministers not to refer to telecare as ‘assistive technology’ and I thought that eventually the message did get through. At least by the time the Preventative Technology Grant conditions were published. And now it raises its head again…

OK, rant over! My thanks to Saneth Wijayaratna of Telemedcare Ltd for alerting me to the 7 minute video.

 

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