Infrastructure and interoperability issues for European telecare

Murray Bywater
Managing Director, Silicon Bridge Research

eHealth strategies have been high on European priorities for the past 5 years.  However, progress has been slower than expected due to lack of clear objectives and problems associated with the modernisation of clinical processes.  The term ‘eHealth’ is now accepted as a ‘catch all’ including everything related to deployment of IT in healthcare.  Two key eHealth applications are Telecare (use of IT and telecoms to provide remote services) and Chronic Disease Management (provision of healthcare services for disease specific groups).

EHR has been described as the ‘mother of all applications’.  There is no clear consensus on scope or content of EHR, but the term has come to be synonymous with sharing patient specific clinical information.  Implementation of EHR turns out to be a long process involving significant elements of cultural change and business process re-engineering.  The picture is further complicated by constant changes in scope and understanding of EHR and its technical implications, involving large scale collaborative partnerships.

Global healthcare markets have made significant progress in developing new patterns for delivering shared care.  Boundaries between acute and primary care are being broken down, with hospitals concentrating on intensive care while other elements are assigned to social and community care.  After 20 years in pursuit of universal comprehensive standards, emphasis has switched to defining interoperability in terms of support for local business processes.  By constraining the context within which standardisation applies, it is possible to achieve levels of interoperability good enough to enable support of telecare and disease management.

Outstanding quotes
from participants
at Telecare 2006!

"It's the first event of its type that I've attended where I felt compelled to congratulate the organisers before I left. It was excellent."
Senior Development Manager, Housing Association.

"Very Good. The only event of its kind I have come across. A useful blend of presentations and exhibitors."
Marketing Consultant.

"Well run, highly relevant, highly informative."
Project Manager.

"Very well organised event. Useful and informative sessions."
Senior Occupational Therapist, a Lancs NHS Trust.

"This was a useful and very worthwhile event."
Project Officer, Cheshire County Council

"An excellent conference."
Clinical Informatician, Pharmacy

"Excellent — wide range of speakers covering topics from all angles."
Homelink & Sheltered Housing Supervisor, Tamworth Borough Council