“Pressure-sensitive alarms that sound when a patient tries to get out of bed do not prevent falls or reduce injury, researchers have found.” This is a hospital-based study but there are implications for the use of bed monitors at home too. Hospital Alarms Fail to Prevent Injury, Study Finds New York Times.

Despite the title (we dislike the ‘game changer’ cliché) and the trendy infographics there are some good things about this free 36-page report produced by Deloitte. For example, their use of the terms telecare and telehealth are clearly defined early on – something many forget to do. The early parts are stuffed full of figures and projections, which may be useful. It is descriptive of the current situation in the UK and does not miss some of subtler aspects, such as the different approaches to telehealth that the four nations of the UK have taken. Parts 3 and 4 move on to describe the challenges to the adoption of telecare and telehealth and presents numerous case examples demonstrating the potential benefits.

In all, because the principal author, Karen Taylor, has pulled together and structured so much information it is a great resource that many people putting together business cases will plunder. However, it seems to this editor (Steve) that it lacks an audience and it lacks the bite of the HaCIRIC report featured earlier this week.

Download the report from the Deloitte UK Centre for Health Solutions web page Telecare and Telehealth.

Philips Lifeline has published a free CarePartners Mobile app for iPhones and Android smartphones that enables family caregivers (carers) to connect with each other and to coordinate care plans privately and securely. More information and download links: CarePartners Mobile. We do not often report on individual apps, but this looks interesting.

Ecumen is conducting an online survey of people over 55 on behalf of a “group of PERS device companies [who] are looking for your input to design the next generation of this product”. Good grief! To mis-quote one of the UK’s ex-prime ministers, Sir John Major, ‘If the answer is more pendants, we are asking the wrong question!” A Personal Emergency Response System Designed by You (No closing date on the survey, but it is still open for you to tell them what you think.) Heads-up thanks to Toni Bunting.

(Ed. Donna note following Ed. Steve: I had quite a bit of contact with Ecumen during my three years at LIG/QuietCare, as they were our lead customer at the time. They are a faith-based non-profit and have 70 senior communities with a range of in-community and at-home services located in four states headquartered in Minnesota. They pride themselves on being a thought and practice leader in their care and if you look elsewhere on the ‘Changing Aging’ blog you’ll see some examples. So let them know what you think both in the survey and in the comment area!)

Toronto-based remote health provider Ideal Life announced that it has chosen Orange Business Services to expand its remote monitoring solutions for wellness and chronic conditions to an international audience. Orange will provide seamless machine to machine (M2M) wireless connectivity for Ideal Life in Europe and Latin America, promoting comprehensive remote care to the home and preventing non-critical re-admissions of patients to hospitals. Press release for more information on both partners.

Shipping containers are being put to all sorts of uses these days, including for homes and shops. Now, in the Kaithal district of Haryana, India, the first of what is intended to be a series of eHealth (telemedicine? telehealth?) centres has been opened in an unused container. Cloud-connected eHealth Centre in Kaithal. Times of India.

This is not the first time Telecare Aware has reported the use of a shipping container for such a purpose. See Telemedicine and mobile IT mobilized for Haiti relief Jan 2010 and US army uses 80-foot container for mental health telehealth booths March 2011.

Editor Steve hardly understands this one, but smells money for someone who can exploit this open source development… New e-Health Biometric Sensor Platform for Arduino and Raspberry Pi: Cooking Hacks by Libelium Helps Makers Develop Products to Monitor Medical Data. MarketWatch.

The Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and High Specialisation Therapies (Ismett) is a major transplant centre in Italy and has been running a trial with post-transplant patients in partnership with Intel-GE Care Innovations. “The study is still ongoing but the signs are encouraging. Early results that compare a control group of patients who did not use telehealth with those that had suggest that the technology accelerated patient recovery, allowing for early discharge and reduced readmissions – even for patients with complex clinical conditions. And by encouraging regular monitoring, healthcare staff have felt empowered to act sooner to avoid any lapses in a patient’s convalescence and any consequent re-hospitalisation…In fact there have been no readmissions in the intervention group so far, compared to several in the control group.” Italian organ transplant centre trials telehealth The Guardian.

Good question. Good article. Good comments. Good gracious, go and read it! Do we need a telehealth tsar? The Guardian.

Simon Arnold, Tunstall’s UK & Ireland Managing Director has been elected [by whom?] to be the TSA Director to represent supply sector members. In the TSA press release Tunstall’s Managing Director joins TSA Board (PDF) Chief Executive Trevor Single says “We are delighted that Simon as MD of the industry’s largest technology solutions provider has joined the TSA board [sic] at this pivotal time…” And Simon says “I’m delighted to be elected to the TSA Board to represent the industry. This is such a pivotal time…”

We wonder what readers make of this strengthening of Tunstall’s presence within TSA?

It is a long time (March 2009 and September 2011) since we drew attention to the UK Disabled Living Foundation’s brilliant AskSARA ‘self-assessment’ and recommendation system which contains much useful advice and links to specific items of equipment for older and disabled people. It includes a telecare-related section and could be a good starting point for professionals who lack specific telecare training and who are asked to recommend equipment. (The reports do come with warnings about getting appropriate ‘live’ help.)

However, now is a good time to point readers back to AskSARA because it has now started to give a better, app-like experience to users reaching the site from a smartphone. Users can now go through the self assessment easily without any horizontal scrolling or straining to see small text. The ensuing report is also clear and can be printed out or a link can be emailed for viewing on a larger screen device later. However, the telecare information is a little buried – one has to choose the ‘Daily Activities’ topic tab and then ‘Help in Emergencies’ to start the self assessment. Worth exploring, though.

A UK study indicates that people with diabetes have a significantly raised risk of heart problems. Quite a good argument for increasing the uptake of remote diabetes care, surely? Diabetes patients face 65% higher risk of heart failure. GP Online.