Inhealthcare has teamed up with NHS Scotland to develop and expand remote monitoring pathways across the nation so that patients can self-manage their health needs at home safely.
A number of pathways are being developed, including blood pressure monitoring and chronic pain management. They are part of NHS Scotland’s remote monitoring programme, Connect Me. It was announced last year that Inhealthcare had successfully bid for the NHS contract to support the scaling and mainstreaming of remote monitoring services across Scotland, using its digital health platform.
By using the remote monitoring programme, patients can reduce the amount of time they spend travelling to appointments. It also gives them added confidence in managing their own health and care.
The blood pressure monitoring service is expected to be one of the largest remote pathways from NHS Scotland. So far it has supported more than 5,700 patients. To date, nearly 12,000 people have been supported by earlier versions of the pathway, including those that support conditions including asthma, depression, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
For clinicians, the programme delivers better availability of data to help support earlier intervention and helps ensure patients are adhering to treatment plans. In turn, this helps to reduce hospital admissions and improves overall patient outcomes.
The Connect Me programme offers patients the opportunity to interact and communicate with healthcare professionals remotely. It also gives patients more choice and flexibility about how and where they manage their health.
The service is delivered through mobile apps, websites, text messages or automated phone calls. It can monitor the effects of starting or stopping treatments, issue reminders, provide encouragement, identify flare-ups to allow for quicker treatment, and offer advice and support during treatment plans.
Bryn Sage, chief executive of Inhealthcare, said: “We are proud to be working alongside the team at NHS Scotland to help Scotland become an international leader in technology-enabled care, supporting more people to live longer, healthier lives at home or in community settings.
“There are more than one million GP appointments per year in Scotland just for measuring blood pressure. By rolling out remote monitoring pathways for conditions such as hypertension, we are helping to create significant extra capacity within the healthcare system.”
