BT’s plans for Cornwall and the UK: old news warmed up

February 3, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/blue-blazes.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Qualifying for TTA’s occasional What the Blue Blazes! spot: one has to wonder why last Friday, 31st January, Nick Renaud-Komiya in the paywalled Health Services Journal resurrected the ‘BT going to make Cornwall its UK telehealth base’ story. Although, actually, the item is all about Cornwall. Some of it is culled from an October 2013 BT press release which we did not bother our readers with. Why did we not? We thought it was old news even then, as putting ‘Cornwall’ into TTA’s search box on the right will reveal. However, anything posted in the HSJ will generate some interest and that’s just what it did with an approving mention in the sidebar of Roy Lilley’s influential newsletter today. It’s just a pity that HSJ’s readers will not see the whole context or be able to make any sensible assessment of the numbers quoted. They would fare better with this 2 October eHealthInsider article.

For TTA readers who want to read the HSJ item but who do not want to get their digital wallets out,it can be read unpaywalled on the Local Government Chronicle site: BT plans to make Cornwall its ‘telehealth hub’

Are you the SME that has developed the best eHealth solution in the past year? (EU)

February 3, 2014 | by

If so, be sure to register for this great competition quick, as the closing date for registration is February 6th.

The competition’s objective is to support business success of EU SMEs by giving them visibility together with marketing opportunities to attract customers, partners and external capital. There are two separate categories, each with their own three prizes: those will turnover of under €500k and those with turnover over €500k.

Good luck!

Three takes on adopting new technology

February 2, 2014 | by

Last week saw three very contrasting reports on technology adoption by care workers.  The first, by NESTA, was a fascinating read entitled Which doctors take up promising new ideas? New insights from open data. Unsurprisingly for those of us who have attempted to peddle new technology to GP practices, the key findings are that larger practices are more likely to be early adopters, and that early adopting practices tend to influence those close to them, resulting in islands of early adoption. (The first is not an inviolate rule I found – sure larger practices can specialise so can focus more on innovation, however a larger workforce can also mean a greater probability of a technophobe with a bee in their bonnet about a pet project that the technology is drawing funds from.)

The report is a great example of big data in action (more…)

Ohio Telehealth bill passed by Senate – goes to Governor

February 1, 2014 | by

HB 123, the Ohio health bill supporting telehealth, was passed unanimously by the Ohio state Senate on the 30th of January. [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ohio-State-Senate.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The bill has now made its way to  Governor John Kasich for signature and to become law.

This bill requires the Department of Medicaid to establish Medicaid payment standards for the provision of telehealth services offered by medical facilities.  The rules governing what telehealth services would be covered will be decided by the Medical Director following existing regulations. With the 30-0 vote in the Senate, Ohio now joins 45 other states in modernizing thier healthcare practices.

This bill and the three others in the US House of Representative which were reported earlier (Yet another House Bil on Telehealth, TTA Dec 20, 2013) shows a welcome growing awareness of telehealth by US legislators.

Coffee break articles

January 30, 2014 | by

Here’s a selection of articles  if you have a few idle minutes this coffee break in which to soak up some interesting views.

Emerging Niche: Telehealth from the American Occupational Therapy Association tells the story of what Jana Cason did when she took over an OT caseload which involved a 4-hour round trip.

Telecare handling 100,000 calls every six months from the Times of Malta gives a brief insight into telecare growth in Malta.

Telehealth trend rings in changes to care in The Tennessean debates the pros and cons of telehealth in pediatric care in the US

Do we know enough about telehealth to know it’ll work? from Total Politics is a fascinating debate by two British MPs and a Research Fellow from Nuffield Trust

Free telehealth distance learning sessions in Georgia (US)

January 30, 2014 | by

The Georgia Partnership for Telehealth is holding a series of distance learning sessions given by[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/classroom-of-empty-chairs1.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on the first Tuesday of every month and the next one entitiled  “Concussions: the facts and controversy” by David Popoli, M.D. will be on the 4th of February. Unfortunately you still have to attend one of the 5 centers in Georgia (more centers are promised if the demand grows) so this is really limited to Georgians!

To register visit the registration website.

The next two will be:

March 4 – Obesity Prevention/Raising Healthy Eaters, presented by Lisa Giles, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.D.E.

April 1 – Diagnosing Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-diabetes in Children: Pearls and Pitfalls, presented by Nina Ham, M.D.

New diabetes telehealth trial in Mississippi (US)

January 30, 2014 | by

A new telehealth trial for diabetes patients will be recruiting patients in Mississippi this spring. Known [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ummc_aerial.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]as the Diabetes Telehealth Network, the trial is planned to provide a classic telehealth service for up to 200 patients for a period of 18 months.

This trial is a result of a collaboration between several public and private organizations: the Mississippi Governor’s office, University of Mississippi, North Sunflower Medical Center, GE Healthcare, Intel-GE Care Innovations and C Spire.

The recruited trialists will be provided with a broadband connected tablet PC which will have software to enable daily medical measurements to be transmitted to a specialist team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. A press release states that the measurements will include weight, blood pressure, and glucose level and these will be monitored by the clinical staff at (more…)

Startup develops online telepsychiatry platform

January 30, 2014 | by

A Chattanooga based startup has launched an online videoconferencing facility for providing remote counselling services.  WeCounsel (wecounsel.com) claim their browser based application is “HIPPA compliant”, a key selling point for their product, although it  is not obvious from their website what specific aspcts of HIPPA they have addressed with their platform. WeCounsel claim to have around 75 clients using the platform to provide direct counselling services to patients.

The Chattanooga Times recently reported that WeCounsel has been signed up by a larger telepsychiatry facility provider InSight to resell the WeCounsel online platform as a lower cost alternative to the traditional videoconferencing facilities which requires relatively expensive equipment.

Database of telehealth and telecare projects in Scotland (UK)

January 29, 2014 | by

A database of telehealth and telecare services and projects in Scotland has been developed and made [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SCTT.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]available as a public resource. For any given project included in the database it gives the organizations behind the project, a brief description, the type of users targetted and the technology used.

Developed by the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare (SCTT) the database can be searched online, say, to pick up all diabetes related projects in the database. One purpose of the database is to help the SCTT to review the uptake of technology used to deliver care.

SCTT is a part of NHS 24, which was established by the Scottish Government in 2001. NHS 24 is [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NHS-24.jpg” thumb_width=”100″ /]responsible for the delivery of clinical assessment and triage, health advice and information by telephone and online means in Scotland 24 hours a day all year round.

The database can be accessed here and further information on NHS 24 can be obtained here.

Terminology: do we need another contribution?

January 28, 2014 | by | 1 Comment

Although I suspect most readers have now got used to the variability in definitions in our field, to the point where it has, thankfully, dropped from being the regular debating point it used to be on TTA (eg here, here and here), valiant souls occasionally pop up to continue seeking to impose uniformity. The most recent is this paper from the European Connected Health Alliance and Wragge & Co, which has an excellent justification for its publication:

In our legal opinion, a more important distinction with these definitions is whether the products and/or services involved are regulated by telecommunication and technology laws and/or health laws. To answer these legal issues comprehensively you need clear legal definitions which do not exist either in the UK or on a pan European (EU) basis.

…which seems a very good point that I suspect many of us had missed. (Perhaps more important for many readers, I guess standardisation would make it easier for recruiters to find the best people to invite for interview from LinkedIn, too, now that that database has become the recognised database for professionals in many fields).

It is certainly a good collation of views on many of the terms we often use. There is much good stuff in here too (more…)

Videolink telehealth continues expanding in Yorkshire (UK)

January 28, 2014 | by

The video-link/ videoconferencing system used by Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in Yorkshire, [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Airedale-digital-healthcare-centre.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]England, to provide remote medical assistance is being rolled out to additoinal care home sites. The service is staffed by a specialist nurse at Airedale General Hospital who uses the system, known as the Telehealth Hub, to assess patients and support staff at the homes.

According to the Keighley News the service was installed in a Bradford nursing home with the first use on New Year’s Eve. Staff at Ashville Care Home are quoted as saying that the service allows their residents to receive medical care without having to call a GP out or take them into hospital. A hospital visit would mean having to get extra cover as a member of staff needs to go as well.

Meanwhile the Telegraph & Argus reports (more…)

South Korea to push Telehealth – good for Samsung

January 27, 2014 | by

Returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she met with several company CEOs, [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Park-Geun-hye.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]South Korean President Park Geun-hye has decided to promote telehealth as a new growth engine for South Korea according to the Shanghai Daily. The president wants to see the country become a global leader in telehealth with a strong domestic use of the technology.

This is particularly fortunate for Samsung, the country’s largest group of companies, which is also said to be planning biomedicine and medical equipment to be among its growth sectors with a reported 10-year total of $22 bn (US) of investment across all its growth sectors. Samsung already produces major hospital equipment such as ultrasound and digital radiography systems, currently operates a massive hospital and cancer center in Seoul and is, (more…)

An essential link to mHealth devices and apps?

January 27, 2014 | by

Guest columnist Lois Drapin thinks so. She shares her insights on Validic, an emerging company in data integration for payers, providers, preventive wellness companies and pharma;how it evolved from its original concept in consumer health engagement, along with a few pointers its founders have for fellow entrepreneurs.

One of the keystone aspects of “ecosystems” is interoperability and this also applies to the data pipeline that flows from health apps and devices to the appropriate segment of the healthcare delivery system, and eventually, to the users—patients, consumers and/or medical professionals such as physicians and nurses or other clinicians. By now, we all know that the capture and analytics for both “big” and “small” health data are business imperatives for healthcare in the US. With data of this nature, we can embrace our understanding of behavioral change at the individual and population levels. The anticipated outcomes of behavioral change may power operational and cost efficiencies in the healthcare industry.

But data will no longer come from just inside the healthcare delivery system. In addition to the changing technology enablement within the health system, as we all know, data will flow from many things—in fact, The Internet of Things (IoT). This means that data that relates to our lifestyle, wellness and health will pour from the many types of wearable devices not now connected to the heath delivery system. In addition to our computers, tablets, phablets and smartphones, are the many sensors paired with tech innovations such as the wearables— from wristbands, smartwatches, clothing (from shoes to headbands), glasses, contacts, and pendants — to things such as refrigerators, clocks, mattresses, scales, coffee pots, cars, and even, toilets…all of which are predicted to become an important market in the coming years.

Validic, based in Durham, NC, has put itself smack in the middle of that market (more…)

Telepsychiatry: a new practitioner’s experience

January 27, 2014 | by

Daniel W. Knoedler, MD in Psychiatric News chronicles his first week as a full-time telepsychiatrist, working for the Green Bay VA Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is definitely a bit stressed as he adjusts to working alone in a cold basement, his image in the video system and the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Psychiatrist who doesn’t have face-to-face contact with patients–and his own socialization. Yet he thinks telemedicine is useful in addressing the lack of access to care for patients and that the technology is not much of a barrier. He does worry about the consequences of not shaving, leading to some musings on Howard Hughes.  Telepsychiatry: First Week in the Trenches

Telepsychiatry pilot success in the Bronx

January 27, 2014 | by

More on telepsychiatry: a pilot at Lincoln Hospital in The Bronx (borough of NYC) for adolescent telepsychiatry consultations reported success with only one in 10 patients being hospitalized after the telehealth consultation, according to Louis Capponi, M.D., chief medical informatics officer for New York Health & Hospitals Corporation, the parent of Lincoln Hospital. “The impact was very profound in terms of the number of patients that were able to (be) discharged safely.” HHC is considering expanding the pilot to patients who come in through the prison system. What is puzzling is that in the exclusive interview with Dr. Capponi in FierceHealthIT, there is no information on the duration of the pilot, the number of patients in the program, or details that would give our readers some framework beyond ‘engaging patients through technology’.