Telecare Aware News Network briefing

Background

When Telecare Aware started in 2005 it focused on news from the UK. However, it quickly developed an international perspective, helping readers note developments in other countries that possibly had general lessons or implications for the industry. This took a big step forward with the appointment in September 2009 of Donna Cusano to improve TA’s North American coverage and to provide context for developments based there.

However, this growth meant that coverage of country-specific news items, such as Government policy developments and local development projects were squeezed out of the news stream.

From our news searches we frequently see items that would interest readers in particular counties but we do not report them because they would not interest the general readership. Countries where we think there is an immediate need for their own sites are:
Australia (now active)
Canada (now active)
England (now active)
France (now active)
Germany
India
Italy (active soon)
Netherlands
Pakistan
New Zealand
Scotland
Spain
USA – individual states
Wales (active soon)
but other countries will be welcome to have their own site too.

Telecare Aware News Network sites

We have developed the facility to set up sites quickly, under the eCareAware.com domain. (See this as an example.) These are blog-type sites suitable for noting news items and providing a link to them. Items do not need to be reported in English. We would like to have 2 or 3 contributing editors per country. We will have links to each country site from the main Telecare Aware site.

What is required of Contributing Editors?

The requirements of contributing editors country sites are:

• To scan news sources most days, looking for items to post.
• To post a link to the news items, with a sentence or two indicating why readers might want to read it.
• To have a sense of what is ‘newsworthy’, rather than to have writing skills.
• To have a working knowledge of English, for communications with the TA editors.

You do NOT need:

• Previous experience of working on a blog. Training on posting items will be given.
• To write articles – although if you want to do that, they will be welcome!
• To maintain the website. We will do that. It is just a matter of logging on, posting your item and logging off again.

Why become a Contributing Editor?

As a contributing editor you will:

• Gain recognition in your country’s community and amongst TA’s wider readership.
• Find that it is an excellent way of keeping your knowledge up to date.
• Receive a complimentary membership of the Telecare Aware In Review site. (Subject to posting at least three items a month).
• Be able to stop your involvement any time that your situation or interests change.

You may also find that you are offered press passes to conferences in exchange for reporting on them.

What next?

If you would like to volunteer to be a contributing editor for your country’s site, email Steve. steve.hards@telecareaware.com

Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Commenting Policy
Anonymity Policy
Press Release Policy
Conference Publicity Policy
Soapbox Guidelines (for authors)

Privacy Policy

We collect a small amount of information from people who sign up for our news updates mailing, including name and email address (to provide the service), country, if offered, and IP address and date of sign up. We never sell, rent, give or otherwise expose this data to any third parties. The legal basis for this is your consent. The data is stored in a private Amazon S3 account using ‘Sendy‘ as our private email management system.

We keep a record of subscribers who use the automatic unsubscribe link at the bottom of each updates email or whose subscription is suspended owing to repeated hard bounces. This enables us to maintain a ‘clean’ list of active subscribers and email them only. The unsubscribed record will be maintained as long as the alerts emails are sent out.

If you wish not only to unsubscribe but to have your record deleted as if it never existed (the ‘right to be forgotten’) you will need to email to us with ‘Delete’ in the subject line, as we have to do this manually.

Cookie Policy

When you arrived at this site Google Analytics cookies were stored on your computer. If you visit parts of the site that use WordPress (such as the archives and TA In Review) WordPress cookies may also be stored. We cannot personally identify you from these cookies but they are essential to help us understand usage of the site. We think it reasonable to assume that, as a tech-savvy Telecare Aware reader, if you object to this you can easily delete those cookies and stop them being added on future visits. (Google ‘delete and block cookies’ plus the name of your browser.) By not deleting or blocking our cookies you imply your consent to our using them.

Commenting Policy

Readers are encouraged to add comments to items that further debate or elaborate them. All comments are moderated. That is, before they appear on the site they will have been read by one of the editors who may make small unacknowledged edits for matters of grammar but who will indicate with an italicised comment within square brackets [like this] if part of a comment is omitted or substantially altered for any reason.

We approach the task of moderation impartially and subsequent publication should not be interpreted as our implied agreement with the originator of the comment.

Anonymity Policy

The gist is…if you have a serious comment to make anonymously…email it, don’t just post it.

Truly anonymous comments – where the writer is unknown – are not published unless they are unexceptional.

Comments or articles where the authorship is known but are offered for publication anonymously are considered on their merits. (Email editors Steve or Donna in confidence.) There are some circumstances where it is necessary to be close to a particular situation to be able to throw light on it but to write about it publicly would jeopardise the author’s position. In that case, the decision to publish an item anonymously hinges on the question of whether or not it is informed opinion that will add insight to, or might start, a debate on a particular topic.

Unsubstantiated allegations of illegal behaviour or substandard products, for example, would not be posted unless they could be independently verified, in which case we would probably publish them ourselves.

Just because a post, article or comment, etc. is published on Telecare Aware, readers cannot and should not infer that the editors agree with the author, anonymous or not.

Press Release Policy

Unlike some other websites, we do not publish press releases per se – we publish news and may link to a press release that explains that news. Therefore, while we are pleased to receive press releases directly, and will link to them on your website, we are unlikely to report on information that we believe is not ‘news’ of interest to our readers. This generally means we will not be reporting on press releases containing ‘announcement’ material such as:

• You have routinely acquired a new customer or distributor/reseller
• You have redesigned your website
• You are going to present, or have presented, at a conference

Please also note that press releases with ‘news’ that we have to unhype first, or ‘studies’ and ‘research’ which lack basic objectivity and methodology are unlikely to gain a place on the site – unless we use them as bad examples, which we have been known to do from time to time.

Conference Publicity Policy

On request, conferences and events will get a free listing on the Events page.

We select a very few conferences per year for ‘Media Partnership’ arrangements whereby both parties provide mutual publicity. Therefore do not be offended or surprised if we turn down your media partnership request – paid adverts for other conferences are welcome, at normal advertising rates – see the Promote page.

Soapbox Guidelines

The ‘Soapbox’ is a place where you can write about industry-related topics on which you feel strongly. There is no preferred length – it should be just as long as you think necessary to make the point(s). We only ask that it is interesting, passionate or entertaining – and not libellous or defamatory, of course.

Browsing other Soapboxes (under the Opinion menu item) will give the best idea of the approach. References to authors companies are allowable for context but blatant self-promotion is not. Your company, personal website or contact details can be linked to at the end. There may be some light touch editing for consistency of house style but you will be able to review any changes before publication.

Telecare Aware is a feisty, independent B2B review of healthcare technology (telecare and telehealth) primarily in the US and UK (where Steve Hards, EIC, founded it in 2005). We’re opinionated, independent and write about the news and issues important to our international readership of developers, telehealth implementers, policy makers, marketers and funders. We also invite outside opinions (in the Soapbox). We are technology advocates, with an eye to what best works in keeping people of all ages independent and healthier, integrates into care workflow, and has a workable business model.

When Telecare Aware started in 2005, it was a busy month that saw 20 relevant news items to note. Now we are regularly posting 70 – 100 selected items a month and filtering out many more that repeat old information, etc. Frankly, keeping up with the increasing stream of information and trying to make some sense of it all is hard enough for editors Steve and Donna, and we do wonder how our readers manage.

So…there’s not much we can do about the stream of posts that cascade their way down Telecare Aware’s front page over the course of about two weeks but we have put in place several ways to help you keep track and keep up…

Do this first…

1) Sign up for the FREE Tuesday and Friday email alerts

No one wants to receive more emails, but this is simple and painless and people do so find it invaluable – at the time of writing there are over 200 people who have been receiving these regularly since before the end of 2006. Enter your details in the boxes below, click the ‘Notify Me’ button and you will get a twice-weekly email listing Telecare Aware updates since the previous email. We’ll never pass your details to anyone else and you can easily opt out.

NOTE: If email alerts you signed up for previously have stopped arriving, read this.

Or you could try these…

2) Follow Telecare Aware via Twitter

3) Follow via Facebook

4) Add to iGoogle

5-14) If you really must…here are 10 other ways to monitor updates (external site link)

The best way…

15) What we eventually realised was that, even if you are coming back to Telecare Aware when alerted by one of the above free methods, it is still hard to pick out from the constant stream of items the ones that are particularly interesting to you. So instead of TA reducing your stress by being your primary source of information in this field, it probably adds to your stress as you still worry about keeping up especially, for example, after a holiday.

We have therefore set up a way to make future news content of the site available to you to sort by topic and/or date and in a print-friendly format. This service, called Telecare Aware In Review comes at a low monthly cost but the facility to read Telecare Aware news items off line, and the amount of time and stress it will save you, is well worth it. Here are the details…

Telecare Aware In Review is an extension to the Telecare Aware website that will help you:

1. Save time by freeing you from having to be at the computer to keep up to date – read printouts wherever you choose
   Makes it much easier to print out important articles to share with colleagues and read on the move
2. Reduce stress by knowing that if you are away for a while you can catch up on back articles easily
   Every little bit of de-stressing helps!
3. Save time and data charges by enabling you to read offline on your mobile device (if you have saved your article selection as a file)
   Download important information to your mobile device and read on the move
4. Focus on the most interesting developments with the ‘Editor’s Picks’ at the end of each month
   They bring you the best of the bunch every month helping you make better decisions for your organisation and its customers
5. Become better informed as you discover items that you may have otherwise skipped or forgotten
   You’re less likely to miss ‘golden nuggets’ of information that could help you transform your services

Check out the Video and the Free Demo

After watching this video you can experience how the Telecare Aware In Review site actually works, in a demo area using just some of the news items from October 2010 only, click here.

Purchase access to Telecare Aware In Review

If you are unfamiliar with making payments via PayPal, please read the following:

• PayPal accepts payments by credit or debit card. You do not need a PayPal account for the non-recurring payments.
• For recurring monthly payments only, PayPal requires the creation of a PayPal account if you do not have one, so that it can make the regular payments for you, from your credit card.
• Payments in currencies other than UK£ will vary with exchange rates.
• Your payment will be to steve.hards@stevehardsoft.com.
• After purchase you will see a message from PayPal about returning to this site. Please follow it.
• Shortly after your payment you will receive a receipt from PayPal and an email from us with your username and password.

Full Monthly Access
£4.95 – approximately €6.25, US$7.70

The subscription for individuals who want to pay monthly. You get access all items for as long as you subscribe.

20 Day Access Pass
£9.90 – approximately €12.45, US$15.40

The choice if you don’t want an ongoing subscription, but want to have short term access.

One-Year Access Pass (for the cost of 10 months’ subscription)
£49.50 – approximately €61.70, US$76.25

Alternative to the monthly subscription or people or organisations that prefer to pay for a year in one go.

Lifetime Access Pass: (Also available by Purchase Order)
£179.00 – approximately €223, US$275

A one-off payment, giving access for as long as the service continues, primarily for people in organisations that can only pay by purchase order rather than by credit card, at a cost that reflects the additional administrative work involved. For a PO purchase, email editor Steve Hards: steve.hards@telecareaware.com. But if you want to purchase by card, click on the button. , giving access for as long as the service continues,

No Refunds Policy

Unless it is a problem with the payment system, we have a ‘No Refunds’ policy. First, you have every opportunity to know what you are getting before you subscribe or purchase a pass – watch the demo video above to see if it is something for you, and to see whether the printing facility etc. works for you, try it out on demo site – and second, you could, of course, print all the posts off on the first day, and ask for a refund…!

Questions / Comments

Any questions or comments, post below or email Steve.

If you need to unsubscribe from your Telecare Aware In Review subscription, you can either cancel it from within your PayPal account or click on this button.

Telecare Aware In Review is an extension to the Telecare Aware website that will help you:

1. Save time by freeing you from having to be at the computer to keep up to date – read printouts wherever you choose
   Makes it much easier to print out important articles to share with colleagues and read on the move
2. Reduce stress by knowing that if you are away for a while you can catch up on back articles easily
   Every little bit of de-stressing helps!
3. Save time and data charges by enabling you to read offline on your mobile device (if you have saved your article selection as a file)
   Download important information to your mobile device and read on the move
4. Focus on the most interesting developments with the ‘Editor’s Picks’ at the end of each month
   They bring you the best of the bunch every month helping you make better decisions for your organisation and its customers
5. Become better informed as you discover items that you may have otherwise skipped or forgotten
   You’re less likely to miss ‘golden nuggets’ of information that could help you transform your services

Check out the Video and the Free Demo

After watching this video you can experience how the Telecare Aware In Review site actually works, in a demo area using just some of the news items from October 2010 only, click here.

Purchase access to Telecare Aware In Review

If you are unfamiliar with making payments via PayPal, please read the following:

• PayPal accepts payments by credit or debit card. You do not need a PayPal account for the non-recurring payments.
• For recurring monthly payments only, PayPal requires the creation of a PayPal account if you do not have one, so that it can make the regular payments for you, from your credit card.
• Payments in currencies other than UK£ will vary with exchange rates.
• Your payment will be made to Steve Hards (TA owner and editor).
• Shortly after your payment you will receive a receipt from PayPal and an email from us with your username and password.
• After purchase you will see a message saying ‘Return to Merchant’ or something similar. Click on it for further instructions.

Full Monthly Access
£4.95 – approximately €6.25, US$7.70

The subscription for individuals who want to pay monthly. You get access all items for as long as you subscribe.

20 Day Access Pass
£9.90 – approximately €12.45, US$15.40

The choice if you don’t want an ongoing subscription, but want to have short term access.

One-Year Access Pass (for the cost of 10 months’ subscription)
£49.50 – approximately €61.70, US$76.25

Alternative to the monthly subscription or people or organisations that prefer to pay for a year in one go.

Lifetime Access Pass: (Also available by Purchase Order)
£179.00 – approximately €223, US$275

A one-off payment, giving access for as long as the service continues, primarily for people in organisations that can only pay by purchase order rather than by credit card, at a cost that reflects the additional administrative work involved. For a PO purchase, email editor Steve Hards: steve.hards@telecareaware.com. But if you want to purchase by card, click on the button. , giving access for as long as the service continues,

No Refunds Policy

Unless it is a problem with the payment system, we have a ‘No Refunds’ policy. First, you have every opportunity to know what you are getting before you subscribe or purchase a pass – watch the demo video above to see if it is something for you, and to see whether the printing facility etc. works for you, try it out on demo site – and second, you could, of course, print all the posts off on the first day, and ask for a refund…!

Questions / Comments

Any questions or comments, post below or email Steve.

Visits to Telecare Aware have continued to grow month-on-month and, looking at the statistics up to the end of September 2010, this is what Company A has missed out on:

• The total page views in September 2010 were 14,957 – up 40% on December.
• Unique visitors in September had increased to 5,580 – up 94% on December.
• Over the nine months since Company A stopped advertising there have been 127,650 page views and 35,196 unique visitors.
• If Company A and Tynetec had been the only advertisers (we allow only a maximum of four in that slot) Company A’s banner would have been seen 63,825 times.
• At the same click-through rate as December, they could have expected at least 2,360 visits to their site. As it was, most of the banner views went to Tynetec by default. Lucky them!

To repeat: in the past 9 months Company A missed an estimated 2,360 visitors to their website by not advertising on Telecare Aware.

Because Telecare Aware provides news of interest to people on all sides of the telecare, telehealth and eHealth industries, our visitors are industry-focused and very loyal. In any time period about half of our readers visit more than once. Telecare Aware therefore has a concentrated readership of influential people in the field. Advertisers who are seen to be supporting Telecare Aware consistently may benefit from that loyalty.

Furthermore, because of its long term commitment Company A had previously been enjoying beneficial pricing for advertising. It will now miss out should it decide to advertise again because Telecare Aware’s prices – while still reasonable – went up in September to reflect the 40% growth in page views and the near doubling of unique visitors.

So what are you waiting for? Another 35,000 visitors to pass you by? See this page for rates, etc. and get in touch to set up your advertising now.

Why might you PAY to subscribe to a FREE service?

If you value the independence of Telecare Aware and the time it saves you researching developments in the industry, please consider making a voluntary recurring subscription or an occasional donation.

Small subscriptions of £5-£10 ($7-$15), especially if made regularly, are as appreciated as the larger one-off donations we occasionally receive.

Contrary to popular belief, Telecare Aware does not receive grant funding and keeps afloat with a small revenue from sponsorship and other advertising. Your contribution will be used to keep Telecare Aware going, to keep it independent (and opinionated!) and to keep its content free to people who would be unable to access it if it were a fixed subscription-based service.

Click on the button below to make a donation (one-off or recurring) via PayPal’s secure interface which works with credit and debit cards as well as PayPal accounts. Alternatively, see note below.

If it is constitutionally difficult for your organisation to make a simple donation, we understand. Let us know and we can arrange to invoice you for a subscription.
Email Steve

The fact that you are not experiencing our site as we intended means that you are using an internet browser that does not comply with World Wide Web standards.

More specifically, you are using Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) or older. We know, because amongst other problems with IE6, it does not display certain image files properly.

BUT THIS IS ONLY ONE MINOR PROBLEM WITH IE6

The list of problems is as long as your arm, but the most important is that it is insecure and makes your computer vulnerable to hacker attacks. This is why Microsoft recommends that you upgrade to the latest version (currently IE8) and why the German and French Governments recommend that you avoid Internet Explorer altogether! (Wikipedia article about IE6 for more information.)

If it is your own computer, there is no excuse for not upgrading from IE6 or switching to a better browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari (for PCs too). It is FREE to do any of these things!

If your IE6 browser use is determined by your company or organisation’s IT department (GE! Intel! O2! IBM! Bosch! and many UK councils), you may have a battle on your hands to get them to change it or to allow you to use another browser. However, they will have to change eventually, as many websites are starting to block people who use IE6 – so they may as well change sooner rather than later, and you can help them along that path by complaining and by pointing them to the following article on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Developers’ blog: Engineering POV: IE6 and/or the Microsoft recommends that you upgrade item.

UPDATE: New Internet Explorer 6 and 7 security weakness found. Forward this to your IT department if you are battling to get them to upgrade. IE zero-day flaw leaks out from zdnet.