This week there is more evidence that telemedicine programs can work--and work very well--from a pilot program in the U.K., where a program in far the northwestern city of Carlisle reduced hospital stays from an average of 10 days to 5.5 days. The project used telemedicine monitors to manage chronic respiratory disease. Patients measured their own temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, electrocardiogram and blood pressure using the equipment. Data was sent via secure server to the patient care team. The Tunstall group provided the equipment used in the project. This kind of technology has been widely praised by analysts as likely to both improve the quality of care and reduce costs in the future, particularly among seniors.
- see this article from ZDNet