International. The most vulnerable elderly and patient in nursing homes in the UK areas of Lancashire and South Cumbria are already benefiting from telemedicine through the innovative Life-Saving Video-as-a-Service (VaaS) solution.
This technology is already being successfully tested at The British Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, thanks to the latest technology from Polycom Inc. and it service provider Imerja.
Telemedicine is an issue of increasing importance both for the British government and for other countries. Therefore, in the United Kingdom, the previous government estimated that telemedicine could lead to a 20% reduction in emergency admissions, a 15% reduction in the area of Accidents and Emergency (A&E), and a 45% reduction in mortality. In addition, Jeremy Hunt set a goal for three million people to benefit from telemedicine by 2017.
In January 2015, the European Commission published the results of its 2014 consultation "MHealth in the EU", which revealed that greater emphasis should be placed on actions to promote open standards, such as those used in Polycom solutions.
The British case
Dysphagia – swallowing problems – is very common among people with neurological diseases, cerebral infarctions and other ailments typical of the elderly. It can also be a fairly reliable symptom of other more serious problems, such as the sudden onset of pneumonia, malnutrition or poor rehabilitation, having to spend more time in the hospital and reducing the patient's quality of life.
Patients with access to a swallowing evaluation and a qualified language therapist (SLT) have a more positive outcome. Immediate care can prevent deteriorating health and subsequent admission to the hospital.
Initially funded by the North West IT Innovations Programme and subsequently by the UK's NhS (National Health Service) Regional Innovation Fund, the service is based on the video-as-a-service offering of Polycom, a global leader in video, voice and content distribution solutions, and managed and maintained by Imerja; Polycom Gold partner and provider specialized in IT services for the public sector.
The VaaS offering offers all the benefits of the Polycom RealPresence Platform without the on-premises configuration, deployment and operational costs, giving organisations like the NHS the flexibility and scalability they need to tailor a solution to their unique needs.
