Major Players Announce Year-Long Telehealth Study

Telehealth, the delivery of health-related services and information over telecommunications lines or networks, will become increasingly important as our population ages, particularly in rural areas. The term “telehealth” can describe something as simple as discussing a case over the telephone, or using a video link between a patient, physician and specialists, to complex technology, such as remote robotic surgery. The prime goals of telehealth systems are to improve access to quality care while helping lower health costs.

GE Healthcare®, Intel Corporation® and Mayo Clinic® have announced that they will conduct a yearlong research study to determine whether or not home monitoring of patients with chronic diseases will reduce hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. Mayo Clinic, which is already evaluating several approaches to remote monitoring of patients, will conduct the study. It will use Intel’s remote patient monitoring technology. GE Healthcare markets, sells and services the Intel Health Care Management Suite and the in-home component, the Intel Health Guide.

Their joint announcement says: “With the numbers of seniors expected to rise dramatically and increasing numbers of patients experiencing chronic disease, the current focus on face-to-face clinic interaction with the provider is not a sustainable delivery model. Technology could enable new care models to help rein in costs and improve patient outcomes through personalized care and ongoing disease management at home and in the community.”

The telehealth study
The research study will involve 200 high-risk Mayo Clinic patients over age 60 who receive care in Rochester, MN. The goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of daily in-home monitoring technology in reducing hospitalizations and ED visits compared with usual medical care. Patients will measure their vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and weight, and respond to questions specific to their diseases on a daily basis.

All of the data will then be reviewed by the clinical care team, working with the primary care provider. The technology, which includes a videoconferencing capability, allows the care team to assess the patient for signs and symptoms suggesting clinical deterioration, enabling early medical intervention. The researchers’ hope is that early recognition and treatment of a change in clinical status will reduce the need for ED visits and hospitalizations. They want to develop home and community-based care models that allow for prevention, early detection, behavior change and social support.

Intel telehealth systems
GE Healthcare and Intel plan to invest $250 million over the next five years for the research and product development of home-based health technologies. The Intel Health Care Management Suite is designed to allow physicians and related medical professionals to manage their case loads, while offering personalized care to patients with chronic conditions. Its features include:

• Two-way video communication with patients.
• Patient prioritization, based on whether or not the patient has reported data and whether a reported vital sign measurement or healthcare assessment response is outside an acceptable range.
• Personalized care protocols: Patients use the Intel Health Guide equipment to participate in health sessions personalized by the healthcare professional.
• Easy patient data review.
• Patient privacy and data security features.
• Streamlined administrative tasks: Various tools help to effectively manage the overall telehealth program for healthcare organizations.

The Intel Health Guide is the in-home system that supports:

• Two-way video calls: These can help physicians strengthen their interaction with their patients by observing them perform specific tasks, or by providing advice and encouragement.
• Interactive patient health sessions: These enable the patient to measure their vital signs, respond to health assessment questions, receive educational information and motivational messages, and complete surveys—information that can then be made available to authorized healthcare professionals to help assess the patient’s health status.
• Validated vital sign devices and measurements: Numerous wired and wireless vital sign monitoring devices are available, including blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales.
• Audio and visual notifications and reminders: Patients are notified of scheduled sessions with an audible tone and with visual cues that include on-screen reminders and a flashing light.
• Multimedia educational library: This provides a variety of multimedia content, including text, audio, and video, as part of a patient’s scheduled health session, or offered at a “teachable moment” in the patient’s care.

Other telehealth studies
This study is one of many telehealth projects that are in progress around the world. Other notable initiatives include:

• American Telemedicine Association (ATA) – a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology.
• EHealth Ontario – the agency tasked with facilitating the development of Ontario’s proposed public Electronic Health Record system.
• European Institute for Health Records (EuroRec Institute) – a non-profit organization involved in the promotion of high quality Electronic Health Record systems in the European Union.
• The International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth –
• The Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) – an independent, not-for-profit organization investigating the delivery of health-related services and information using telecommunications technologies.
• United Kingdom National Health Service Telecare and Telehealth Systems