An article that we recently read - Telehealth & Telemedicine: By the Numbers shows some very interesting statistics related to Telehealth & Telemedicine – such as – The average reduction in mortality rates in the U.S.A. due to the use of telehealth systems is a staggering 22%.

To put this in context for people suffering LTC in the U.K. which could be monitored and helped by Telehealth & Telemedicine -

• At least 25,000 people die each year as a result of COPD and at least 6 in 10 of these people will suffer depression and/or anxiety.
• At least 1 in 20 adults in UK have hypertension – rising to around 50% of people over 65 years, which equates to around 5 million people.
• Around 2 in 3 adults will suffer from at least one episode of depression at some point in their lives.
• There are 2.9 million people in the U.K. who have been diagnosed with diabetes.

At MultiSense Communications we pride ourselves on our range of Professional Services that we offer.  We employ dedicated trainers to attend site following installations, who will work with the users and administrators of systems to ensure that you will get the most out of your system.  Our dedicated technical team are also able to advise on network, bandwidth and firewall issues.

So no need for concerns – we have the solutions!

The Kings Fund looked at 64 telehealth studies, which covered seven different long term health conditions.  The majority of studies were for patients suffering with diabetes or heart failure/stroke.

In one heart failure case study, the use of telehealth was able to reduce the hospitalisation rate of effected patient by a massive 47.5%.  In one diabetes case study the cost of giving care to the patients was reduced by €650 per patient versus traditional care methods.  Not only did the diabetes case study reduce the healthcare costs, but it also reduced patient’s work absences. 

If you would like to view the whole presentation click here.

In 2011 around 50,000 VHA patients received telehealth services and this number looks set to rise, making this the largest implementation of telehealth worldwide.  These telehealth services are for designated individuals and populations across the USA.  Initially this programme’s focus was on the active management of chronic conditions and post traumatic stress disorder, however following this success it is moving into other areas such as obesity management.

Currently in the UK there are more than 15 million people who suffer from conditions that cannot be cured, but can be managed through medication.  As part of the Life Sciences program, 3 million people will be given access to telehealth technology in their homes.  The recently published Department of Health’s Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) Programme headline findings document shows how these patients can benefit from telecare.  It has been acknowledged that with many telehealth pilot projects currently running within the NHS, the overall approach is somewhat disjointed. 

There are a number of similarities between the VHA and NHS and it is with these similarities in mind where it is felt that the NHS could learn from the VHA’s telehealth experiences.  The table below, showing the potential scale and cost saving within key disease groups across the NHS, has been taken from the full report – Telehealth – What can the NHS learn from experience at the US Veterans Health Administration?  There is a lot of very useful and interesting information in this report – definitely worth a read!

To read more about Long Term Conditions and how telehealth can greatly benefit patients who suffer with these conditions, see The Department of Health’s Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) Programme headline findings document.

The implementation of telemedicine enables remote consultations of these patients, with their doctors to take place, without the waste of time and money previously involved in travelling.  At the Presbyterian Home For Central New York and New Hartford, videoconferencing has been deployed to allow just this sort of consultation to take place, click here to read the full story

Click here to read the full press release…………

A “not to be missed” event if you are a senior health and social care professional wanting to gain a comprehensive insight into Government plans for Long Term Care Conditions.

Long Term Conditions Conference at QEII Conference Centre, London 1st February 2012

With around 350 senior clinical and service managers attending this year’s event, it’s a great opportunity to mingle, share views and discuss with your peers, how care for patients with long term conditions is taking shape.

MultiSense Communications will be there supporting the conference and demonstrating our technologies that can really make a difference by further improving care and outcomes, reducing costs and helping to improve Consultant’s and Clinician’s productivity. Our high performance technology enables remote face to face consultations using specialist camera technologies.

For full details of the conference see – the conference website - we look forward to seeing you there!

With over 16 years of experience in the supply and support of videoconferencing, we know that there are a great number of benefits that will be realised by people using videoconferencing.

Traffic jams can be avoided when you use videoconferencing

We are not by any means suggesting that you never travel again, far from it, but by replacing, for example, even one in every three meetings with videoconferencing the time and cost savings that will be made are enormous.  If you would like to read more, here are the two parts [part 1] [part 2] of the report mentioned above, why not give us a call and we can show you just how much your organisation could save by investing in this technology.

We have again this year decided to make a donation to the very worthy charity Help for Heroes, instead of posting Christmas cards.

MultiSense Communications Board Room –

IP address – 217.35.45.113

Domain name – Boardroom.multisense.co.uk

ISDN number – 01494 520198

MultiSense Communications Meeting Room

IP address – 217.35.45.114

Domain name – Meetingroom.multisense.co.uk

ISDN number – 01494 520929

These are now available for testing purposes. They are usually switched on between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday – Friday. If you wish to test to these systems outside of these hours please let us know and we will leave our systems switched on for you.

If you require any assistance with updating these details in your videoconferencing address book, or indeed any other assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us on either info@multisense.co.uk or by telephone on +44(0)1494461949.

We read a really interesting article from Paul Corrigan, giving his theories on why changes within the NHS, specifically the introduction of telemedicine are often thwarted simply because individuals do not want change.  He even goes so far as to say that he feels that there is a “conspiracy within the NHS against the implementation of step change”.  Paul Corrigan also points out some of the massive benefits that can be achieved through the implementation of telehealth. 

As a company, MultiSense Communications, with our dedicated Healthcare Division have worked hard to build the good relationships that we enjoy with our NHS customers, enabling fears of change to be allayed as these relationships are, amongst other things built on trust.  Why not have a look for yourself at some of the Healthcare work that we undertake.

In a keynote speech, David Cameron said: “This is going to make an extraordinary difference to people.  Diabetics taking their blood sugar levels at home, and having them checked by a nurse. Heart patients having their blood pressure and pulse rate checked without leaving their home. Dignity, convenience and independence for millions.”

To see some of the many other applications of telemedicine, visit our Healthcare Division pages

Improving Depression In Nursing Home Rehab Patients Through Telemedicine

Lifespan, who are a not for profit healthcare group, consisting of five hospitals in Rhode Island, USA are currently conducting a pilot telemedicine study to help improve depression in elderly nursing home rehabilitation patients.  It’s been acknowledged that there is a shortage of mental health professionals available to visit, as depression is very common in nursing home patients.  The use of telemedicine provides access to mental health professionals via secure video, email and chat. 

To read the full story click here

Read the full story here

and click below to watch a short video clip -

The Telestroke service utilises groundbreaking technology which will maximise the number of patients given effective stroke treatment and drastically reduce the number of stroke related disabilities and deaths in Lancashire and Cumbria.

Read the full story…..

The Royal Society of Medicine, London

We’re really looking forward to attending the Royal Society of Medicine’s eHealth and Telemed 2011: Raising the Standard – improving care, cutting costs conference in a few weeks at 1 Wimpole Street, London on 28th and 29th November 2011.  Why not come and visit our stand and we can discuss any questions or conferencing requirements that you might have.  For more information on the conference, please visit The Royal Society of Medicine’s website.

The Polycom UC Board quickly and easily transforms LCD monitors and display surfaces into Virtual Whiteboards, making sharing Content via Video as easy as picking up a pen.  It makes real time content annotation an integral part of your video collaboration, enabling every participant to be involved.

Read more about the UC Board from Polycom.

We’ve all been loving using our iPad2 with Polycom’s new Real Presence mobile app.

Polycom goes mobile with first enterprise software solution for Apple, Motorola Mobility, and Samsung Tablets that lets users enjoy HD Video Collaboration from anywhere.  Click here to view a short clip.

MultiSense Communications listened to our needs and created a solution that exceeded all of our expectations, giving us the ultimate in flexibility, functionality and ease-of-use.

Andrew R Slack

Director, Information Technology

SNA Europe