With 4088 bed days taken up with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and an average length of stay of seven days per admission, NHS North East Essex has taken the proactive decision to invest in telehealth in order to help reduce emergency admissions and bed days related to chronic heart failure (CHF) and COPD.(1)

Telehealth home monitoring has already helped to reduce the need for patients to make frequent visits to GP surgeries for routine check-ups or nurse home visits, and is enabling patients to self care and manage their condition.

Following the deployment of the telehealth service, over a six month period, the average number of GP visits made by patients had reduced by 66%, the average number of patient hospital attendances or 999 callouts had reduced by 44% and the average number of home visits required had dropped by 19%. This will help to reduce the cost and stress to patients of unscheduled visits to hospital.

In addition, 90% of clinicians involved in the service agreed that telehealth provided assistance with case management as well as assisting with the overall reduction in caseload.

Speaking about the new telehealth initiative, Caroline Westley, project lead at North East Essex PCT said: "By using telehealth, patients can take their own measurements at home that a nurse or GP would normally take, therefore avoiding frequent visits to the surgery or waiting on nurses for home visits.

"Telehealth is providing a vital service to the community by helping to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, providing patients with the tools to self-care therefore making them feel more empowered and informed about their health and reducing anxiety and exacerbations."

An early evaluation of the telehealth service shows that 100% of patients agreed that the service had helped them better understand their condition and that they felt more involved in their own care, whilst 83% said that it had helped them cope better with their symptoms and had given them a sense of security and peace of mind. 92% of users found the monitors easy to use and would continue to use telehealth in the future.

Patients with COPD and CHF are supplied with telehealth solutions from Tunstall Healthcare, which monitor their blood pressure, oxygen levels, weight and temperature as well as asking a series of health-related questions, on a daily basis. The information is then transmitted via the telephone line where specialist nursing staff triage the data and manage patient health remotely, to ensure timely support is given to patients when needed.

NHS North East Essex is working in partnership with Essex Equipment Services who is providing the telehealth equipment home installation service. The remote monitoring of patients will be evaluated by Colchester Borough Council along with the community matrons and specialist COPD and CHF nurses, who will follow up on patients health status either by phone or a home visit where required.

The telehealth project aims to support over 100 patients during 2010

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About Tunstall
Tunstall Healthcare Group is the market-leading provider of telehealthcare solutions, with over 2.5 million users globally. Tunstall's solutions support older people and those with long-term needs, to live independently, by effectively managing their health and well-being. Tunstall provides technology, expertise and advice to millions of people enabling them to lead independent more fulfilling lives. For more information on how telehealthcare can improve quality of life, visit www.tunstallhealth.com.