Why focus on Long Term Conditions?
Almost one in three of the population have a long term condition, such as asthma, heart and lung disease, arthritis or diabetes.
Long Term Conditions (LTC) account for 55% of GP appointments, 68% of A&E and outpatient appointments, 77% of inpatient bed days and 69% of the primary and acute care budget in England (“The Big Opportunity”, report from the Regional Director of Public Health, Yorkshire & The Humber, March 2010 )
‘The average cost of someone without a long term condition is around £1,000, which rises to £3,000 for someone with one condition and to £8,000 for people with three or more conditions.’ Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, 14 March 2011 ‘That’s one reason why we need to modernise the health service and the way we care for patients.’
The improvement in patient outcomes and the efficiencies that can be gained from the use of telehealth with patients with Long Term Conditions have been well evidenced (for example a 19% reduction in numbers of hospital admissions (“Switch On! The Case For Telecare” report) and telehealth is included as a key component of many organisations’ QIPP plans. Telehealth solutions also widen access to care and provide a vehicle to address health inequalities, for example the provision of telehealth to geographically remote patients in North Yorkshire, to the traveller community in Hull.
The innovation of telehealth solutions has been the focus of previous investments and a range of solutions are available. Nonetheless, barriers of know-how / experience; the capacity / resource to implement the services; and access to / funding for telehealth equipment are limiting the adoption and spread of telehealth solutions on the ground in many areas.
There is a compelling and urgent need to break through these barriers, deploying telehealth solutions at scale on the ground for the benefit of patients and for the health and social care economy as a whole.
