NHS Central Lancashire’s community matrons have introduced an innovative remote patient care management tool to help chronically ill patients monitor and manage their health at home and remain independent for longer.
The technology is currently being piloted with 40 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a serious and incapacitating condition which affects over 3.7 million people in the UK and typically causes acute shortness of breath and susceptibility to lung infections. If successful, NHS Central Lancashire aims to expand the programme to help patients with other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart failure across central Lancashire.
The Intel Health Guide was designed and developed by Intel to address the challenges of chronic conditions for patients, their families and the healthcare professionals responsible for their care. The device, currently available in the US and UK through GE Healthcare, allows patients to measure their vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and weight, and respond to questions about their diseases on a daily basis, with all data reviewed by the community matron team.
The technology, which also includes a videoconferencing capability enabling patients to talk with community matrons, allows the care team to assess the patient for signs that their condition is worsening. The hope is that early recognition and treatment of a change in symptoms will reduce the need for admissions to hospital.
The pilot – which started in June 2010 – will run for 12 months across Preston and will be evaluated at regular intervals to assess how the technology is helping improve patients’ quality of life, their general satisfaction with the equipment and the opinion of carers.
