Steve Hards asks “What questions should telehealth commissioners be asking suppliers?”

Now that the laughter in the UK’s telecare/telehealth community over Tunstall’s name change in the UK to ‘Tunstall Healthcare’ has subsided into a rather nervous giggle, it’s an appropriate time to raise the question of what criteria does a company have to meet to be recognised as a healthcare company? (more…)

An appreciative comment on the Telecare Services Association’s 2008 conference in Brighton on 3-5 November by ‘telehealth convert’, Consultant Cardiologist Dr Lance Forbat. (more…)

James Batchelor, MD of Alertacall, raises a serious issue for councils and other telecare suppliers: what risk is a council running when its employee substitutes a ‘standard’ but inappropriate equipment package for a privately-funded one that was more suitable for the client? Would the person’s consent to the course of action be a defence if the consent were based on inappropriate advice? (more…)

This item by Paul Gee, Chief Executive of the UK’s Telecare Services Association (TSA), was originally published Autumn 2007 in the TSA’s magazine. (more…)

The Smart House movement pre-dates the introduction of telecare. Guy Dewsbury challenges the current trend of branding telecare-enabled accommodation as ‘smart’. Read his Telecare Soapbox item: and here is a links to a press release that exemplifies what he is objecting to. ‘Smart House’ uses new technology to promote independent living (more…)

What was Chancellor Gordon Brown up to when he announced that the VAT rate on equipment to help older and disabled people live independently would reduce to 5%? Steve Hards reflects. (more…)

Speculation by Steve Hards, concerning the potentially double-edged effect of the Department of Health’s large ‘White Paper pilots: whole system long term conditions (LTC) demonstrator programme’. (more…)

Dr Kevin Doughty, of the University of York’s Centre for Usable Home Technology speculates on the prospects for successful mainstreaming of telecare in the UK. (more…)