Remote monitoring systems have been the subject of several recent UK studies by the Department of Health. These large-scale studies have shown encouraging results for UK patients, reducing hospital visits and overall mortality rates significantly.

Three large companies, including Royal Phillips Electronics, were involved in designing the infrastructure for the study, which was dubbed the Whole System Demonstrator, or WSD.

Patients in the UK Department of Health study were monitored for blood sugar levels and indicators of health in cardiopulmonary disease. Over the course of the study, it was shown that these patients had a reduced mortality rate by 45%, a remarkable jump. Preliminary findings also that have been published formally by the department also show a reduction in emergency room visits by 15%, a reduction in emergency admissions by 20%, a 14% reduction in elective admissions, a 14% reduction in bed days, and an 8% reduction in tariff costs.

These numbers signify that in-home monitoring is helping to detect signs of illness far earlier in the patient’s progression, which sometimes allows them to be treated entirely at their homes. If they still are admitted to the hospital later in the progression of their symptoms, they reach doctors in a healthier state than ever before, and their prognosis is generally much brighter.

The results of this study show that just a few simple telemedicine instruments and a network for supporting their use could reduce the load on a country’s medical infrastructure by an enormous percent, while also saving the lives of patients across the country.

UK’s Response to Study Results
After receiving the final results of the study, the UK has begun the only sensible response available, which is to implement a mammoth telemedicine system in the homes of over 3 million patients.

The project has been dubbed 3Million Lives, and although it’s still at the beginning stages, it represents one of the first national changes toward a better system of healthcare, one that promotes telemedicine use.

There are still challenges to overcome before the system is fully in place, and developers realize that in some ways the process will be complex.

One obstacle, for example, is that patients must be extremely comfortable using the devices. Many of these systems will go into the homes of elderly patients, who may not have ever used a home PC or an Internet connection. The solution is to streamline and simplify the usage of these devices, and not require a patient to have home electronics, which is a very feasible solution.