Based on the release:
- The provider–GSS–is taking the lead in putting together the telecare/telehealth providers and appears to be actively responsible for managing the integration/monitoring of three separate data sources–which counters the trend of integrated telehealth providers performing these services, along with care management support, for providers
- To Ed. Donna’s knowledge, this is the first significant study in the US to combine telecare’s remote sensor based monitoring with telehealth–along with fall detection. WellAWARE’s emphasis on sleep quality adds a further spin.
- The study is ‘large N’–1,600 over three years is rare, when most telehealth studies are <100 and under one year
- In addition to examining care effectiveness, the study will attempt to estimate cost savings to help justify this for reimbursement by public and private payers.
The $8.1 million grant supporting this is from the NY-based Helmsley Charitable Trust [TA 24 June]. The Good Samaritan Society Announces Key Technology Collaboration for the Study and Improvement of Senior Wellness
If the study combines telecare and telehealth, should it be called telecare health or telehealthcare or telemonitoring or healthtelecare?
That question is for Steve…
Hmm…how about calling it a ‘whole system demonstrator’?
… well whatever it is called – study works for me because it is short and easy to say – the inclusion of sleep quality interests me.
Too often on receiving a telecare referral I find that some of the more simple low level interventions have not even been considered let alone tried. We have citizens spending considerable time indoors with low light levels and little structure to their day; add in that some medication may slow them down a little; too often things are done for them instead of with them; they either have too few or too many visitors during the day – is it surprising that sleep is disrupted from it’s normal healthy patterns? and so a spiral of decline begins!
Telecare then becomes much harder to use effectively. So I have a date in my diary for January 2014 to look for the results being published …
WellAWARE, according to my information, is doing other work in ‘sleep quality’ and may be releasing results shortly. This is definitely a follow up item for us.