Vital signs, such as blood pressure and pulse, can also be remotely monitored, and could play a role in managing patients with long-term disease.
The Mayo Clinic in the US (in collaboration with GE Healthcare and Intel) is half way through a year-long study to evaluate the effectiveness of in-home monitoring technology – which includes videoconferencing capability – in reducing hospital visits for patients with chronic health conditions. The hope is that detecting deterioration in a patients’ condition at an early stage will enable prompt treatment that reduces the need for hospitalisation. An existing teleheaith service in the USA has alreday reduced hospital admissions by 20 per cent.
Specialist care
Videoconferencing has been used as part of e-health for years in countries such as Norway to provide consultations with dermatology specialists, located many miles away. It can also allow staff from different hospitals to have ‘virtual meetings and so save on travel time and costs. The South West Wales Cancer Network showed during evaluation of their videoconferencing use that one site saved £5,100 in travelling expenses in just a month.