Re: Effect of telehealth on use of secondary care and mortality: findings from the Whole System Demonstrator cluster randomised trial
Steventon et al present interesting data that raise more questions than are answered.
Telehealth takes many forms, and outcomes should not merely be in terms of mortality and pounds saved. In the North of Scotland we have used a combination of video conferencing and telephone consultations to consult with patients in our dispersed population who have chronic kidney disease.
We have seen an improvement in quality of service we can provide, and little or no reduction in our cost, but taking a wider view a reduction in costs to society in terms of patient travel, and time off work for patients and or carers.
We can see more patients in their locality by selecting patients for VC and telephone consultation which frees up out patient clinic space. In our practice this frequently prevents the need for a patient from making a 250 mile round trip, saving their time and reducing CO2 emissions. The feedback from our patients has been positive, and as a sceptical bunch of clinicians we have been pleasantly surprised to find that the quality of our consultations is not diminished.
The bigger picture needs to be seen and rural areas may have the most to benefit from from telehealth solutions.
Rapid Response:
Re: Effect of telehealth on use of secondary care and mortality: findings from the Whole System Demonstrator cluster randomised trial
Steventon et al present interesting data that raise more questions than are answered.
Telehealth takes many forms, and outcomes should not merely be in terms of mortality and pounds saved. In the North of Scotland we have used a combination of video conferencing and telephone consultations to consult with patients in our dispersed population who have chronic kidney disease.
We have seen an improvement in quality of service we can provide, and little or no reduction in our cost, but taking a wider view a reduction in costs to society in terms of patient travel, and time off work for patients and or carers.
We can see more patients in their locality by selecting patients for VC and telephone consultation which frees up out patient clinic space. In our practice this frequently prevents the need for a patient from making a 250 mile round trip, saving their time and reducing CO2 emissions. The feedback from our patients has been positive, and as a sceptical bunch of clinicians we have been pleasantly surprised to find that the quality of our consultations is not diminished.
The bigger picture needs to be seen and rural areas may have the most to benefit from from telehealth solutions.
BMJ2012;344:e3874
Competing interests: No competing interests