Telecare and telehealth: Why wouldn’t you?

Official population forecasts indicate that the over 65’s will increase by over 40 per cent to 11.6 million by 2025 – representing 1 in 5 of the population. If you take a straw poll in any street anywhere in the world, the vast majority of people will tell you that they would want to stay independent and in control of their own health for as long as is humanly possible. With these significant changes in demographics (occurring not only within the UK, but right across the globe), and the fact that modern medicine enables us to live for longer than ever before, the desire for independence brings its own set of challenges. 

As we age, our needs change. We may require assistance to remain in our own home, or have no alternative but to move into residential care. Residential care may be the correct choice for some of us, but for others there are a growing number of alternatives that are not only more acceptable to an individual, but also much more cost effective. Another consequence of ageing is the increasing likelihood of developing one, or more, long term conditions. Current statistics from the Department of Health indicate that there are currently over 15 million people in England alone living with a long term condition. As we age this increased likelihood of developing multiple long term conditions can impact on how we live, our independence and the amount, and type, of care we require. With an ageing population, the number of individuals living with multiple long term conditions will continue to grow.

Long term conditions
This growth in long term conditions will bring with it an increased need for care for the individual to enable them to stay as healthy as possible. Roll into this the increased likelihood of hospital admissions and the cost of healthcare rises significantly. All indications are that the current health and social care systems will not have the resources to cope with this increased demand. With this shift in demographics, the role of carers will continue to increase in importance. Figures from Carers UK indicate that an additional 6,000 people take on a caring responsibility every day, with over three million people currently juggling care with work and 1 in 5 being forced to give up work altogether due to the significant demands placed on them as a carer.

A mix of solutions will be required to address these significant issues. 3millionlives, the partnership between government, health, social care, housing, industry and third sector stakeholders, is working towards a transformation of services to enable a step change in the way we deliver health and social care. Access to telecare and telehealth as part of mainstream health and social care is at the core of 3millionlives.

Efficiency Savings
Telecare is already accessed by over 1.7 million people in the UK. Telehealth is becoming an increasingly important option for clinicians to provide the best possible healthcare for their patients. The benefits are recognised from the individual person to government ministers who recognise the difference that adopting telecare and telehealth into mainstream delivery can make to the use of resources, and indeed efficiency savings across health and social care: “Telecare and Telehealth can be transformational in terms of enabling independent living much longer than would otherwise be the case”, Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care & Support.

Telecare, as defined by the Telecare Services Association (TSA), the representative body for telecare and telehealth, is a technology assisted service that enables people to live independently in their own home. 90 per cent of people say that that is their wish - and telecare allows it to happen. Equally it gives peace of mind to family, friends and carers, knowing that when they are unable to watch over their loved ones, telecare will. As well as responding to an immediate need, telecare can work in a preventative mode, with services programmed to monitor an individual’s health or well-being. Often known as lifestyle monitoring, this can provide early warning of deterioration, prompting a response from family or professionals. The same technology can be used to provide safety and security through bogus caller and burglar alarms.

Telecare services that are accredited to the TSA Telecare Code of Practice, are delivering to consistently high service standards, giving additional piece of mind to the individual in receipt of those services, and their family and carers. Further information about this standard can be found at www.telecare.org.uk/standards

The benefits of telecare are many – it enables an individual to remain independent and secure in their own home for longer, and it provides peace of mind and security for not only the individual, but their family  and carers. For providers, it enables them to utilise technology to assist in the provision of care services, maximizing their resources, and offering a full 24/7 service each and every day for the individuals who use their services. Telecare uses technology to assist the delivery of services – and the emphasis on service is important. What telecare isn’t is the use of technology in isolation.

Another form of supporting the individual in their own home is telehealth, which complements existing health care regimes. Telehealth uses technology to provide services that assist in the management of long term health conditions, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Heart Failure (CHF), Diabetes and Epilepsy. Telehealth enables individuals to take more control over their own health, with information about their health condition being monitored regularly to flag up issues before they become ‘care critical’ and becomes an intrinsic part of the individuals care pathway. It works by monitoring vital signs, such as blood pressure, and transmitting the data to a response centre or a clinician’s computer, where it is monitored against parameters set by the individual’s clinician. Evidence that vital signs are outside of ‘normal’ parameters triggers a response. The use of mobile devices (often called mHealth) means that monitoring is no longer restricted to the home.

In the many teleheath pilots that have taken place across the UK, telehealth has been shown to reduce hospital admissions, and enable clinical resources to be managed more effectively.

The future
So what does the future hold for our ageing population? The future is definitely bright - innovations continue, with huge advances in technology, interoperable systems, telehealth pilots and the large scale deployment of telecare across the UK. The Government has shown real commitment, and 3millionlives is making real progress. Access to these services is becoming much easier and personal choice greater – we could eventually be able to buy into a service through our local supermarket, or via the red button on our televisions.

The TSA is continuing its development of standards for service delivery across the industry, with the development of a quality standard for telehealth, which together with the existing code, will form an integrated quality standard for telecare and telehealth services. TSA also organises the International Telecare and Telehealth Conference which this year takes place on 12-14 November 2012. This is the largest gathering in Europe of telecare and telehealth professionals, and attendees will see the very latest innovations and developments across the sector, and hear from expert speakers. Further information can be found at www.telecare.org.uk/conference

With 3millionlives and the continued commitment from TSA, government, clinicians, and the public and private sector, telecare and telehealth should become automatic choices for us all as our needs change. These solutions not only increase the control an individual has over their own condition, but can also be used to maintain a person’s wellbeing, prevent exacerbations of long term conditions, reduce the number of hospital admissions and help an individual stay well and independent for longer, at a cost that is effective for both the public and private sector. The question isn’t why would you use it, it is why wouldn’t you?

Further information
www.telecare.org.uk