Service planning
Why is this important?
“We don’t want to go here’s telemonitoring where can you use it... let’s just have a think about what problems you encounter and let’s just see if technology can make that easier, and then go out and find a solution.”
“We are expecting clinicians to work around the kit and it shouldn’t be like that. They should be able to say, we need such and such, and we should be able to supply that.”
Key steps
Take time to plan your telehealth service before purchasing new equipment or software
Decide how potential users will be referred, how long they will use telehealth and how they will be discharged
Consider what needs to be in place to monitor patients remotely and provide follow-up care
Questions to consider when designing your service
Patient assessment and review
Who is the service for?
How long will patients use it for?
What makes patients suitable?
How will patients be referred?
How will patients be reviewed and discharged?
Installation, technical support and maintenance
What technology do patients want to use and how will it be provided?
What training and technical support do patients require?
How will the technology be maintained and updated?
Monitoring activities
What information and data is needed from patients?(eg vital signs, symptoms, images)
What information will be provided to patients? (eg education, coaching)
How will data be transferred, accessed and shared with others?
Triage and clinical support
How will patients be monitored and by whom?
When will patients be contacted by a clinician?
How will patients be contacted, eg phone, text, email?
How will care be delivered and by whom?
How will a patient’s care record be updated?
Key features that help to improve adoption of telehealth
The MALT study identified key features of telehealth that can help to facilitate successful remote monitoring of patients, and increase acceptance and adoption among frontline staff.
They are shown in the figure below, which can be downloaded (PDF, 792KB).
