Future systems for remote health care

Abstract

As the number of elderly people in society increases, the use of technology to support the care system is being examined. However, there is no agreed model of a technology-based health-care system that fully integrates the technical and social aspects to meet the needs of both clients and care providers. This paper examines a possible model from the perspective of both the client and the service provider, and estimates the costs, and hence the potential savings, associated with the introduction of a health-care system based on this model. Cost data are presented in the context of an installation as might be anticipated within a city such as Birmingham, UK. Installation costs of an advanced telecare system would be higher than the set-up costs of conventional systems. Expected savings in control centre costs and emergency services costs would be small. However, a reduction in the average annual length of hospital stay by one day and a reduction in the proportion of elderly people being treated in hospital from 32.4% to 32.0%, directly as a result of the use of advanced telecare, would produce significant savings. A financing scheme with a 5-year or 10-year repayment period would then be financially viable for a 10,000-home advanced telecare system.

Design lab work in telecom: Definition, design and test of a wireless sensor network

“…In that context, various telecommunication technologies used in personal networks (PAN for Personal Area Network) are nowadays potentially answering such needs such as remote monitoring of buildings, care of the elderly, structural health monitoring [3]……”

Mutuality

“…Monitoring is done for a variety of reasons, which include, early detection of disease [14], disease management [10,15], safety and security reasons [6,16], enabling early discharge from the hospital [9], compliance with drug taking regime [11], patient education [16], rehabilitation [17] and a combination of reasons mentioned [18]. The focus of work can also be the delivery of a virtual nursing service [19] and the assistance in activity of daily living [20].…”

“…Brownsell et al [18] looked at creating a new locale by pulling all civic structures together. Dimmick et al [30] also discussed the use of telecare technology to enhance the relationships of the members of the civic structure, and mentioned the issue of reimbursement when home visits by nurses is replaced by videoconferencing.…”

Maisons intelligentes pour personnes âgées : technologies de l'information intégrées au service des soins à domicile

“…Les caractéristiques requises par de tels systèmes ont depuis très longtemps été identifiées [1,2]. Ces systèmes devront être ouverts, capables d'intégrer des technologies assez diverses, et suffisamment flexibles pour s'adapter au cas particuliers de chaque patient, tout en prenant en compte l'aspect dynamique de l'évolution de l'état de santé.…”