Home telehealthcare: findings from a pilot study in North-east London
Professor Susan Procter and Angela Single report from a
study involving older people with afflictions requiring ongoing care.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the findings from a pilot study evaluating the
benefits of using remote devices for daily home monitoring of patients’
vital signs. The patients were a small group of elderly people living with
multiple complex conditions and experiencing repeated hospital admissions.
The organisation of the service is described in the paper. As the pilot
group was small, findings can only be considered as pointers.
Findings indicated that the service: reduced overall hospital admissions
for this group of patients during the four-month intervention when compared
with the previous four months; it increased patients’ and carers’ confidence
in managing diseases; and that home monitoring helped patients communicate
more effectively with the primary care team, thereby enabling the latter to
provide a more effective response for patients.
Br J Healthcare Comput Info Manage 2006; 23(8): 10–13. |
