According to an article published CNET News, a British telemedicine project has halved the time patients spend in the hospital by enabling doctors to monitor their condition remotely. Carlisle Housing Association and the Carlisle and District Primary Care Trust wanted to reduce the length of hospital stays for patients and increase the independence of patients by giving them more information about their condition. Using the system to manage chronic respiratory diseases, doctors in Carlisle have managed to reduce hospital stays for some patients from 10 days to 5.5 days.
The project involves giving telemedicine monitors to patients, thus allowing them to measure their own temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, electrocardiogram and blood pressure. These results are sent via a phone line to a secure server, where they are saved as an electronic patient record, which can then be accessed by doctors or nurses.
The system can monitor diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which currently costs the United Kingdom’s National Health Service about $1.44 billion (818 million pounds) per year.
