Telehealth to free hospital beds

Telehealth services could free hospital beds and reduce waiting times according to a six month trial of mediboxes on elderly patients.

The trial found that patients using mediboxes to monitor their health on the internet reduced their hospital visits by half.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 50 patients in NSW with an average age of 87, suffering serious heart or lung conditions requiring regular hospital stays, were chosen for the six-month trial last year.

Each was given a ''medibox'' linked to the broadband network so they could regularly type in details of their blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen and weight. Any change in condition was spotted by a doctor earlier than through less-frequent visits to a GP, the trial found, allowing for the quicker introduction of preventative treatment.
The trial, conducted in Toronto, south of Newcastle, showed an overall reduction of 47 per cent in the need for hospital care, while the length of stay for those who needed to be admitted to hospital was reduced by 38 per cent. The results will soon be published in a US medical journal.

Doctors say telehealth services could ultimately free many hospital beds and go a long way to reducing waiting times. For Kilaben Bay resident Catherine Bradley, 86, getting a computer and hooking up to the internet was a novelty. She has an ongoing heart condition and described herself as ''a walking tablet''. Every morning at 10am, Ms Bradley would switch on her medical monitoring machine and follow the regime of medical tests.

''The machine would take my blood pressure, I didn't really have to do anything. It took my weight - the scales are hooked up to the computer,'' she said. ''If my blood pressure was high or low - mainly it is low - the doctor or nurse would come on the screen and advise me what to do.''