Archive for the ‘Telehealth’ Category

Med-e-tel Conference presentations

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

Organisers of the recent Med-e-tel Conference in Luxemburg have posted presentations and papers for your to browse. Med-e-tel website.

Philadelphia Story: classic confusion?

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

The good news: Telehealth study of 216 people begins

Carematix and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing to conduct a four-year study on the effectiveness of telehome monitoring. The study is funded by a grant for more than $1 million from the National Institute of Nursing Research. Read the press release.

The bad news: Home care progress thrown into reverse

The ‘Community Choice’ project began in Philadelphia in 2003. It shortened applications for in-home care from 24 pages to four, and expedited clinical assessments so that people could receive services within 24 hours instead of months. Hospital discharge planners were trained to help people return home instead of automatically referring them to nursing homes…equipment was installed in houses to monitor the vital signs of patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, to avoid costly hospitalizations…After those changes, the number of people receiving in-home services grew from 12,071 to 20,569 over three years. Then, suddenly, things stopped. The planned statewide expansion of the Community Choice project and the use of health-monitoring devices was halted and new restrictions on eligibility – such as prohibiting terminally ill patients from receiving personal care at home – were enacted.
Philly.com news item.

Med-e-Tel Telemedicine and eHealth Directory

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

Link to Med-e-Tel’s current Telemedicine and eHealth Directory (PDF 2.4mb)

Sundrop saves time

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

With the new Stanford University Network for Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (SUNDROP), Dr Moshfeghi can now obtain and view computerized images of the retina of a distant child without leaving his desk. What took hours out of his day before now takes minutes.

Wireless Healthcare report

Docobo project at Barnsley

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

Forty chronic heart failure patients in Barnsley are using Docobo’s doc@HOME remote monitoring telehealth service, answering health and quality of life questions, and taking physiological measurements. Adrian Flowerday, MD of Docobo commented: “The team at Barnsley are one of the first in the UK to equip a significant number of patients with telehealth, and their careful and practical approach to the project is both innovative and bold.”

Read Docobo’s press release

Residential home telehealth kiosks (US)

Thursday, March 23rd, 2006

Residents at Beverwyck assisted-living home in Albany get weekly checkups at an electronic kiosk in the lobby. “I want to make sure I’m alive every morning,” jokes 87-year-old Thomas DiFrancesco…Though there is little hard data tracking its growth, there is mounting evidence that more people are using telemedicine. The number of companies manufacturing home telecare devices in the last three years has tripled to 15, and the Veterans Administration plans to double the number of patients it puts on home telecare to 20,000 during the next year…

US good news story on telehealth.

Dr. Technology will see you now

Friday, March 17th, 2006

Neat little blog entry on telemedicine contains simple message and links to further information. Read more.

Phillips Telemedicine site

Monday, March 13th, 2006

As we recently noted, Phillips is starting to make a stronger play in the telemedicine/telehealth arena. Here is a link to its home site for these products.

ALRT medicine compliance system

Monday, March 13th, 2006

ALRT medicine compliance system: “Ideal for patients with COPD, Asthma, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, AIDS/HIV, psychiatric conditions or dexterity issues (tremors, severe arthritis), mild to moderate dementia as well as patients with complicated medications schedules, such as congestive heart failure and organ transplants.” Read article.

Telemedicine for sub-Saharan countries

Monday, March 13th, 2006

‘Due to an increasing population, a global shortage of physicians and other healthcare professionals, as well as increasing health costs, Telemedicine is perceived by many to be a lifejacket held-out to a society immersed in the turbulent sea of healthcare.’

An odd metaphor for a sub-Saharan project, but a worthwhile project nonetheless. Read on.

And for contrast, telehealth in Saskatchewan, Canada. Read on.