| Bosch Telehealth Trial |
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10 Mar, 2010 - Netwell Centre in Ireland to conduct telehealth trial using Bosch Telehealth Plus System
- Pilot project to assess how patients with chronic conditions may benefit from using Bosch Telehealth Plus System -
Robert Bosch Healthcare — a leader in telehealth —
The Netwell project will demonstrate how a telehealth system may help patients better understand their chronic illness and motivate them to change their behaviour to improve self-management of their condition. Forty older patients who have either congestive heart failure (CHF) or diabetes are participating in the trial, and a quarter of them will serve as a control group. The main group will use the Bosch patient interface in their home for a period of 90 days. The project has been enabled by the close cooperation of specialist clinical teams in the Health Services Executive within Louth County.
Download the full press release here
The patient interface is a compact device with a display and simple four-buttons that allows patients to answer a series of questions about their health and symptoms each day. Through these “dialogues” they learn about ways to better manage their conditions, and they receive health tips and reminders to take their medication. In the Netwell Centre trial, the participants will also report their blood pressure and weight or blood glucose levels, depending on their condition, through the session.
The data from the sessions is sent over a telephone line to a secure data centre where it is accessed by care coordinators who are alerted to early warning signs if a patient’s health is deteriorating. The coordinators alert specialist clinical staff within the Health Services if a patient appears to need urgent attention.
In the Netwell project, McElwaine SMART, a project partner of Robert Bosch Healthcare that offers 24/7 monitoring services to a range of people who are trying to manage risks whilst living independently, will provide triage staff to monitor the data received from the patients. By quickly risk-stratifying patients based on the daily interactive sessions, the Bosch Telehealth System enables healthcare providers to intervene before medical issues escalate. The goal is to improve quality of life, enable older people to remain independent longer, and lower costs of care by reducing visits to the emergency department and hospital.
“We believe that this telehealth project will be a catalyst for transformation with clinicians, health services and private service providers working together to the benefit of older people,” said Rodd Bond, Director Netwell Centre. “It forms a key element in our mission of transforming communities, environments and technologies for ageing-in-place.”
During the trial researchers from the Netwell Centre will evaluate how patients respond to the telehealth technology and determine its ability to impact their well-being and quality of life. They will also solicit feedback from clinicians to learn how telehealth systems may contribute to improving their healthcare service and relationships with patients. This pilot project will allow healthcare services to assess the feasibility of expanding telehealth services to a broader community.
“Through our partnership with McElwaine SMART, Bosch is establishing a comprehensive telehealth solution in which the technology and clinical service are integrated,” said Derek Newell, President of Robert Bosch Healthcare. “We believe this critical project sponsored by the Netwell Centre will help shape a telehealth service model that can be replicated and expanded in other areas.”
In the U.S. the Bosch Telehealth System has aided health management of thousands of patients with a wide variety of chronic conditions, and it has yielded measurable results. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which has used the system extensively in its telehealth programme, showed a 20 percent reduction in hospitalisations and 25 percent reduction in bed days of care for participating patients. 1 The Bosch Telehealth System has also been a prime component of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Care Management for High-Cost Beneficiaries Demonstration that began in 2006. The success of this programme in improving the care of and reducing costs for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries has led to the programme being extended for another three years.
Ends
1 Darkins A, Ryan P, Kobb R, et al. Care coordination/home telehealth: the systematic implementation of health informatics, home telehealth, and disease management to support the care of veteran patients with chronic conditions. Telemedicine and e-Health. 2008;14:1118-1126.
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The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. According to preliminary figures, some 270,000 associates generated sales of roughly 38 billion euros
The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.
Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.
Robert Bosch Healthcare is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Bosch-Group providing innovative telehealth solutions. The product spectrum ranges from patient terminals, through fast and secure transmission of health data (vital signs), to comprehensive evaluation software for healthcare professionals. The Bosch Telehealth Plus system strives to improve treatment with systematic patient involvement. Bosch Telehealth Plus supports healthcare professionals at clinician and patient interfaces, as well as funding bodies, in providing enhanced and regular care services for patients with chronic conditions, allowing them to lead happier and healthier lives thanks to continuous healthcare monitoring in their own home environment.
McElwaine SMART is home to a state-of-the-art, 24-hour monitoring centre for social alarms, TeleCare & Telehealth. They provide equipment, installation, monitoring and maintenance throughout the island of Ireland. TeleCare & Telehealth supports the whole concept of community-based care and forms a core part of any home-based care package by providing 24-hour remote response and support. This has proven to be a very cost-effective service and can deliver efficiencies in the health and social care model. McElwaine SMART is part of the McElwaine Group established over 32 years ago. McElwaine Group believes that it is essential that quality be assured when providing services, and with this in mind they have successfully achieved audited compliance in Codes I and II with the Telecare Services Association (TSA) bringing them to premium member status.
The Netwell Centre is based within the Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), the leading 3rd level teaching, research and innovation centre in the Northeast of Ireland, focusing on integrated approaches to 'sustainable living' across ecological, environmental, and health and wellbeing themes. The Netwell Centre is also supported by grant aids from The Atlantic Philanthropies. The establishment of a new applied research centre (CASALA), which is funded by Enterprise Ireland, aims to work with industry to achieve technology product innovation, business competitiveness, and market leadership in the emerging ambient assisted living (AAL) sector. |
has announced that its remote patient monitoring system will be used in a new telehealth trial for chronic disease management in Ireland. The trial is being conducted by the Netwell Centre at the Dundalk Institute of Technology in County Louth, Ireland, which serves as centre of excellence for the applied research, development and exploitation of technologies that enhance quality of life and well-being of older people and support their ability to live independently. The project marks the first involvement of Robert Bosch Healthcare’s telehealth system in Ireland.
