Background This paper summarises a series of presentations on telemedicine given at a UK eHealth Week conference session in 2016. The formal evidence base for telemedicine is equivocal, but practical experience suggests that implementations of technology that support telemedicine initiatives can result in improved patient outcomes, better patient and carer experience and reduced expenditure. Objective To answer the questions 'Is an investment in telemedicine worth it'? and 'How do I make a telemedicine implementation work'? Methods Summary of systematic review evidence and an illustrative case study. Discussion of implications for industry and policy. Results Realisation of telemedicine benefits is much less to do with the technology itself and much more around the context of the implementing organisation and its ability to implement. Conclusion We recommend that local organisations consider deployment of telemedicine initiatives but with a greater awareness of the growing body of implementation best practice. We also recommend, for the National Health Service, that the centre takes a greater role in the collation and dissemination of best practice to support successful implementations of telemedicine and other health informatics initiatives.
The development of telecare services across the UK has been supported by grants from the respective governments of Scotland and Wales, and by the DH in England. New services are being established to sometimes operate alongside existing community equipment services and community alarm services. Elsewhere they are embracing a wider range of services including rehabilitation, intermediate care and health services designed to reduce the use of unscheduled care services. This paper discusses the difficulties in understanding the scope of telecare services, and the definitions of services that will need to be confirmed so that service users can choose appropriately if offered direct payments. Two different service models are offered, one of which uses telehealth as an umbrella term to cover all telecare, e-care and m-care, and telemedicine where the former includes all such services offered in the service user's home, including those of a medical nature. The second model views telecare alongside assistive technologies and telemedicine as one of three different technology groups designed to make people more independent or to bring care closer to home. There is significant overlap between the three groups, which justifies the introduction of a new term-ARTS (assistive and remote technology services)-to describe this area of support.
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