Telehealth involves carrying out various services from a distance.
Telehealth allows the remote reading of:
- Weight
- Temperature
- Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure
- Blood sugar levels
- Lung function (COPD)
- Heart function (ECG, pulse and saturation)
- Use of medication
With the use of telehealth it is possible to remotely obtain a much more up-to-date picture of the patient’s condition, as a whole series of measurements are taken on a daily basis, in the client’s own home.
It will, therefore, be possible to measure a change in the medical condition of large groups of chronically ill patients at a much earlier stage, because certain specific changes from the norm can be quickly picked up in the readings. Any such changes will activate an alarm and action can be taken.
Example
In the case of a diabetic patient, a triage system (question and answer) is used on a daily basis, asking the patient about his condition and taking readings, such as blood sugar level, weight and blood pressure and keeping an eye on whether medication is taken in a timely manner. All this information is centrally registered in the UMO platform, so that any deviations can be acted upon immediately. This form of preventive care reduces hospitalisation of chronically ill patients and thus increases their quality of life.