Human and organisational aspects of remote patient monitoring in residential care homes

Author: Bratan Tanja   Choudrie Jyoti   Clarke Malcolm   Jones Russell   Larkworthy Andrew  

Publisher: Inderscience Publishers

ISSN: 1741-8453

Source: International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, Vol.3, Iss.1, 2006-11, pp. : 123-134

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Abstract

Demographic changes in the population, with a growing proportion of elderly people, make the efficient and effective provision of healthcare for this age group an increasingly important issue. We examine the organisational and human aspects of introducing a Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) system that uses wireless and broadband networks into three residential care homes in the UK. Stakeholders were identified, and semi-structured one-to-one interviews were carried out in order to identify issues deemed most important to each group. The work is novel, as it requires examination of the issues of communication between healthcare workers in several primary and secondary care organisations. The key finding was the need to identify the changes in working practice and interpersonal communication. A key factor in particular was the change in relationships: staff in the remote centre needing to learn to seek support when reporting and requesting assistance for a problem; and for the staff at the health centres to respond appropriately.