Impact

Publications

• The project has published the mapping results from Work Package 2 as a report"Portfolio of eHealth applications". The report describes the context and development of eHealth innovations in the northern parts of Finland, Scotland, Sweden and Norway. The report aims at identifying some of the mostimportant aspects of the healthcare sector infrastructure that influence the introduction of eHealth innovations. It also describes the most prominent eHealth services and initiatives which are currently being used in these countries.
• The project has published eNewsletters and brochures which describe project progress. These can be downloaded from the project website.
• The project has been featured in the European Commission's book on regional policy entitled "Investing in our regions, investing in the future".
• The project has been featured in the Inforegio-Panorama magazine

 

Developing new eHealth services

Based on the mapping exercise, the new eHealth services which will be piloted in Finland, Scotland, Sweden and Norway have been selected:

• In Finland, a portable bag which allows remote monitoring of biosignals for 1) cardiac arrhythmia, and 2) weight reductions at home has been piloted and completed. Videoconferencing consultations for wound treatment, and remote speech therapy have been piloted and completed at remote sites
• In Norway, piloting of the portable bag for remote monitoring of biosignals has been completed
• In Scotland, piloting of tele-dialysis has been completed and is now part of normal service. Speech therapy pilot is ongoing.
• In Sweden, the mobile eye screening unit has been piloted.

Track record of sharing

Our conclusions will offer experiences guidelines for providing comparable services in primary health care at other sparsely populated remote sites. Along with the main report, the results of the subprojects will be published in international scientific papers.

 

In Finland, the remote wound clinic and remote speech therapy pilots were seen as services that could be replicated and utilised in a wider context. This necessitates interoperable systems and a regional, unified solution for utilisation of videoconferencing has now been agreed upon. The development of regional services will continue in a project funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

 

In Scotland, there is potential for teledialysis to be replicated in two other satellite renal units served from Inverness by NHS Highland, including one in the Western Isles. The latter will involve cooperation with a separate health board. A renal unit in the Northern Isles also hopes to improve its telemedicine link with the mainland, based on this example.

The Teledialysis project will be presented to the Scottish Renal Association at its biannual meeting in Inverness in March 2011.

 

Remote speech therapy has been demonstrated on the east coast of the Highland region, with potential to spread further as IT infrastructure improves and more health centres are equipped for videoconferencing. Interest in remote patient consultations has been generated among other healthcare teams, largely due to personal advocacy by the pilot's lead therapist.

 

The eHealth departments of NHS Highland and the Scottish Government are kept informed of progress on both project pilots, as are politicians, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, academics, and healthcare staff.

 

In Sweden, the mobile eye unit has been piloted by Lycksele hospital in the geographical area of Southern Lapland. It is possible to expand the service to cover the entire County Council of Västerbotten and reach over 1500 patients living in the remote areas of Northern Sweden, who are in need of screening for diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma follow-ups.

Another possibility to increase the efficiency is to include other services in the same trailer. The County Council of Västerbotten is conducting a health economic analysis of the trailer usage where some suggestions are also made to increase the benefits of using the trailer.

Lessons learnt

It is important to work with telemedicine champions who can inspire other staff to get involved. Offering staff an opportunity to see telemedicine services "in action" prior to transfer of technology is also important as it seems to inspire and motivate staff.

Develop good relationships with eHealth and clinical staff and keep them informed.

Careful preparation and attention to practical, staffing, human and organisational as well as technical factors is important - time on these aspects is well spent, even if progress may seem slow.

Be prepared to adapt the original model to your own health organisation's circumstances - the basic concept can work even if details have to be amended.