Telecare in Newham
Newham University Hospital NHS Trust is investing in an innovative
patient-monitoring service that will help patients in the Borough of
Newham stay healthy while maintaining their independence.
The service is expected to have the added benefits of reducing
patients’ hospital and emergency room visits, increasing clinical
efficiency and reducing unnecessary nurse visits to patients’ homes.
The service comes by courtesy of a partnership between the Trust and
Massachusetts-based AMD Telemedicine, and the latter’s UK agent
Cardiff-based Home Telehealth Ltd. In line with the partnership, nurses
from the long-term conditions programme are installing AMD’s
CareCompanion home monitoring solution into their patients’ homes.
Patients interact with the CareCompanion system by touchscreen. The
system sends reminders, collects vital-signs data from a variety of
medical devices and asks questions that help assess the condition of the
patient. CareCompanion automatically sends the information it has
collected to a web-based server over an ordinary telephone line.
The relevant carer at Newham can assess the data on a secure website,
being notified if any readings exceed preset thresholds.
According to Angela Single, Program Manager at Newham: “The
CareCompanion home monitoring solution will work in conjunction with the
long term conditions care provider to allow a patient to stay healthier
in their home.”
Source: bjhc&im October 2005
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