Scotland to invest additional £10m on telehealth

March 7, 2014 | by

The Scottish Health Secretary, Alex Neil, has announced the investment of an additional £10 million [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Healthier-Scotland.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /](about US $ 15 million) to support home health monitoring solutions across Scotland, the BBC has reported. This additional funding for the NHS Boards will enable people to use technology such as tablet computers and smartphones to monitor conditions such as diabetes, heart problems and lung problems at home, the report added.

In 2011, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy in Scotland set out her strategic vision for achieving sustainable quality in the delivery of healthcare services across Scotland, in the face of the significant challenges of Scotland’s public health record, changing demography and the economic environment. The Scottish Government’s 2020 Vision is that by 2020 everyone is able to live longer healthier lives at home, or in a homely setting and, that Scotland will have a healthcare system where, amongst other goals, there will be a focus on ensuring that people get back into their home or community environment as soon as appropriate, with minimal risk of re-admission.

Mr Neil’s announcement was made during a debate in the Scottish Parliament entitled ‘Update on Delivering the 2020 Vision in NHS Scotland’. Mr Neil claims past efforts in telecare and telemedicine have meant that £2.8 million has been “ploughed back” into Scottish frontline services and reduced emergency admissions to hospital by 70 per cent.

It’s iAwards time again!

February 28, 2014 | by

As the US East Coast faces low temps (down to 12 degrees again tonight) and another dumping of snow Monday, a small sign of spring, like flash-frozen daffodils and crocuses (crocii?), is the annual application call for the Triple Tree iAwards for Connected Health to be presented at the Wireless-Life Sciences Association (WLSA) 9th Annual Convergence Summit 14-16 May at the Omni in San Diego, California. Twelve finalists will be selected from applicants based on

criteria including the uniqueness of their solution; marketplace traction; clinical, operational or consumer relevance; size of addressable market and international presence across three categories:

    • Operational Effectiveness: Solutions that address the financial, compliance or operational needs of a healthcare organization.
    • Clinical Effectiveness: Solutions that address the care delivery and clinical effectiveness for a patient.
    • Consumer Engagement: Solutions that empower consumers to make better healthcare decisions.

Finalists attend not only a dinner, but also for the first time this year a private business review session. Online applications can be accessed at the TripleTree and Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance websites along with a $195 fee. Registration for the conference is here. Hat tip to Editor Charles and reader Mike Short.

International Digital Health Congress (UK): call for papers

February 18, 2014 | by

Call for papers due 31 March

The King’s Fund’s International Digital Health and Care Congress has opened their call for speaker papers which showcase new ideas in telehealth and telecare. This year the Congress has widened its focus to include ehealth, mobile health and digital health innovations. Abstracts for oral and poster presentations should be targeted to one of the main topics below:

Sustaining independence as people age.
Preventing and managing chronic illness effectively.
Supporting people with mental health issues.
Digitally enabling service transformation.
Innovations in technology.

Formats for presentations (including PDF) are available at the Congress’ page. More information for the Congress on 10-12 September is available here.

CUHTec courses in March–updated (UK)

February 13, 2014 | by

CUHTec has announced two additional telecare strategy courses for March, adding two at Coventry University in addition to the two previously scheduled at University of Newcastle. Topics are Learning Disability Services, Fall Prevention and Digital and Mobile Telecare. These strategy courses are for commissioners, service development managers, trainers and others with responsibility for telecare and AT service planning and delivery.

CUHTec telecare strategy course: Learning Disability Services, HDTI, Coventry University, Thursday, 6 March 2014

CUHTec telecare strategy course: Learning Disability Services. Culture Lab, University of Newcastle, Thursday 20 March 2014

CUHTec telecare strategy course: Moving to digital and mobile telecare. Culture Lab, University of Newcastle, Friday 21 March 2014

CUHTec telecare strategy course: Fall Prevention and Management, HDTI, Coventry University, Tuesday 25 March 2014

To find out more and to book a place, please visit CUHTec’s website. Thanks to reader Prof. Andrew Monk, director of The Centre for Usable Home Technology (CUHTec), for the update.

Legrand “joint venture” with Neat

February 9, 2014 | by

A press release on Legrand’s website and (in Spanish) on Neat’s website, both just published, confirm the forming of a joint venture between the two.  This of course is the Legrand that took over Tynetec last year and Intervox in 2011, making it, they claim, now the  “second-largest player in the promising assisted living market.”

Neat’s products, distributed through Possum, have been finding favour across the UK because of their attractive prices. How, one wonders will the tie-up with Tynetec’s organisation now work, and will Possum now lose this attractive distribution arrangement, particularly in the major rollout in Cornwall where Neat are preferred suppliers?

All comments, anonymous or otherwise, will be gratefully received.

Finally, just to be clear, there is no connection between Neat, the Spanish supplier of assisted living equipment and Newham’s NeAT programme  (which originally stood for Newham Advanced Telecare and it so happens at one time I managed).

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

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.

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…)

HC2014

January 24, 2014 | by

19-20 March 2014, Manchester Central, Petersfield, UK

For over 30 years, HC has delivered thought leadership; informing and educating its audience on the how the latest innovations in technology support the increasing demands within healthcare. HC2014 will address all the current healthcare reforms with a number of themes referring to the call for paperless NHS by 2018. Key sessions will demonstrate technology to support Patient Engagement, Safer Hospitals and Integrated Care. Conference and exhibition presented by the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, in partnership with HIMSS. Conference keynoters include Tim Kelsey, NHS England; Andrea Sutcliffe, Care Quality Commission; Mike Pringle, Royal College of GPs; Kingsley Manning, HSCIC. Information and registration. Hat tip to reader Louise Sinclair. If there are TTA readers planning to attend, we are once again inviting you to contribute an article or a compilation of impressions. This can be filed within 72 hours of the close of event; alternatively, during or at day’s end/start. If you are interested, please email EIC Donna here (donna.cusano@telecareaware.com). It is expected that you can be selective and interesting rather than comprehensive. You will be credited of course but expenses and article will not be covered. 

 

Upcoming CUHTec courses in March (UK)

January 16, 2014 | by

There are two upcoming CUHTec courses in March on Learning Disability Services and Digital and Mobile Telecare. These strategy courses are for commissioners, service development managers, trainers and others with responsibility for telecare and AT service planning and delivery.

  • CUHTec telecare strategy course: Learning Disability Services. Culture Lab, University of Newcastle, Thursday 20 March 2014
  • CUHTec telecare strategy course: Moving to digital and mobile telecare. Culture Lab, University of Newcastle, Friday 21 March 2014

To find out more and to book a place please visit CUHTec’s website. Thanks to reader Prof. Andrew Monk, director of The Centre for Usable Home Technology (CUHTec), for the update.

Smaller scale telehealth and telecare successes

January 4, 2014 | by

It is usually the large scale telehealth and telecare projects that hit the news, be it for their successes or, indeed, failures. So as the new year starts, let’s celebrate a couple of  smaller scale projects which have made progress recently.

From Coldwater, Michigan, we have a student telehealth scheme opening this month. With significant funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health, clinics will be opened in two schools in Branch County to provide primary healthcare services from a central Adolescent and Pediatric Center which has four physicians and a nurse practioner. A school based nurse provides physical assessment of students in need and, if appropriate, links via video to the Center to consult a physician or the nurse practitioner. Diagnostic equipment at the schools are also networked so the Center staff have access to these in real time. Prescriptions, if needed are sent direct to a convenient pharmacy. The state funding provides the majority of costs for equipment, a nurse at each school and operation for 3 years. See Branch County CHC website for more details.

From the other side of the Atlantic, in Doncaster, England, the local council’s telecare service reported that it has reached its 1,000th user. Doncaster’s service povides access to a comprehensive range of sensors from simple fall detectors to other sensors placed discreetly around the home on ceilings, doors, walls, beds and chairs. The 24-hour monitoring service attracts a weekly charge under £4 and there is no charge for the equipment. The benefit to the user is obvious and the Council benefits too, as it has an obligation to provide care services to residents who are unable to live at home.

In-home activity monitoring telecare trial launched in the US

December 20, 2013 | by | 10 Comments

A year-long trial to monitor the day-to-day activities of elderly Medicare members is being launched in the US. The 100-participant trial [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Humana-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]will monitor eating, sleeping, physical activity and toileting according to a press release from Humana. The trial appears to be a collaboration between Humana and a sensor provider Healthsense.

The idea of using bed occupancy sensors, weight (more…)

Technology to support those at risk of falling: free resource

December 17, 2013 | by | 1 Comment

We have been contacted by Sue Williams, Project Development Manager, ADASS West Midlands, who is keen to promote a free information leaflet about technology to support people at risk of falling, how it can help and how people can obtain it, either through Local Authority Telecare services or self purchase. She is keen for Telehealth & Telecare Aware readers to use it to raise awareness of how technology can play a key role in the support available to people at risk of falling and their families and carers.

She explains that in 2012 it was estimated 800 people fell daily in the West Midlands where fall detectors were an under-used resource. By sending an alert so that someone knows a person has fallen, a fall detector does make a difference to living independently by restoring confidence. And of course if someone does fall, getting help quickly makes a real difference as there is a very strong direct correlation between recovery and how long people lie on the floor after a fall; the speedier the response, the lower the risk of hospital admission, and the shorter the length of hospital stay & subsequent support requirements on discharge. (more…)

mHealth Summit: the warmup

December 7, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/mHealth2012_logo_NOtag_272x53.jpg” thumb_width=”190″ /]Even if you are not attending the mHealth Summit starting Sunday near Washington, DC, we’ll be covering selected topics through our correspondents on the scene.

News and highlights:

  • Founding organizing partner mHealth Alliance is relocating from the UN Foundation in Washington, DC to Johannesburg, South Africa to be closer to its work in developing countries. Release.
  • If you follow David Doherty of mHealth Insight (3G Doctor) as we do (and he does us), his mHealth/LinkedIn group will have an informal meetup at their booth #917 on Monday, 6-7:30pm. More information. He will also be speaking.
  • FierceMobileHealthcare’s preview
  • A spotlight on Sunday’s activities

Official Tweetstream: @mhealthsummit   Hashtag: #mHealth13

Update 9 Dec: Bad weather in the area has delayed many participants or changed travel plans. MedCityNews has a timely listing of speakers’ Twitter usernames to follow here.

Telehealth & Telecare Aware is a media partner of the 2013 mHealth Summit.

Legrand purchases Tynetec, enters telecare market

December 2, 2013 | by | 7 Comments

Breaking News

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Legrand-logo-2013.jpg” thumb_width=”125″ /][grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Tynetec-Master-Logo-2011-White.jpg” thumb_width=”125″ /]The official announcement of telecare and nurse call system manufacturer Tynetec‘s acquisition by commercial and residential electrical company Legrand is here and attached (PDF). This follows on Editor Charles’ article of 24 September and the following comment by Stewart Smith. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. All signs (press announcement, website changes and reconfirmation with our contact at Tynetec) indicate that Tynetec will continue to be located in Blyth, Northumberland as a separate business unit within Legrand UK (HQ’d Birmingham) with its current line including the Advent XT Warden Call system, the Reach personal alarm system, the new Reach plus GSM system as well as the recently acquired Aid Call nurse call system as a separate brand.  Legrand UK’s stated aim is to enter the healthcare area to complement its existing areas in wiring devices and related areas. The parent, Legrand SA, is a French company with operations in 70 countries, marketing in 180 countries and €1.1 bn in annual sales, with an overall strategy of self-financed acquisitions of small to midsize companies of which Tynetec decidedly fits (see Bloomberg article). In the US, Legrand is best known for wireless lighting and home controls. Certainly this does provide Tynetec, after 34 years of ‘grizzled pioneering’ in the UK, a solid and VC-free parent in the UK–and access to worldwide markets.

Editor’s note: Tynetec has been a long-time supporter through advertising on this website, and Founder Steve and all the Editors appreciate their support.

3ml pivots, Lancashire telecare turns?

November 28, 2013 | by

3millionlives goes sideways, again…

NHS England formally scrapped the planned seven ‘pathfinder sites’ projected to enroll 100,000 residents, in favor of a more limited scheme to gain adoption of telehealth in areas where ‘energy already exists’ in a new plan, ‘Integrated Care for 3millionlives’ to be delivered by March 2014. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in November 2012 set the 100,000 goal for 3ml; NHS England took over the program in April from the DH The totals tell the tale. An independent review by GP 8 Nov gave the total patient count as of September as just 2,368 patients in 20 active pathfinder CCGs (clinical commissioning groups). A spokesperson for NHS England quoted in GP stated that the goal of 3 million patients is still valid for 2017; Rachel Cashman, head of collaboration for excellence at NHS England, indicated at a conference that the plan would cover telehealth, telecare, telemedicine and telecoaching . If this were Silicon Valley, the word used would be the done-to-death ‘pivot.’  NHS England abandons health secretary’s pledge on telehealth (GP), 3millionlives delivery plan by April (eHealthInsider)

As the world turns in Lancashire…

…it seems like a change in party control from Conservative to Labour has derailed the One Connect deal to provide telecare to county residents and possibly the career of the Conservative leader. The current Lancashire County councillors have charged that the deal, signed by the previous lead Councillor, would overcharge the county by £1.4million. One Connect is a 60/40 percent joint partnership between BT and the LCC. Muddying the waters is a personal dispute between the Conservative head and the Liberal Democratic leader. Tories turn on party leader (Lancashire Evening Post)