Health IT, Patient Engagement

Could Spain’s telemedicine for elderly program offer lessons for US?

The Basque region of Spain saved $55 million and eliminated 55,000 visits with a telemedicine […]

The Basque region of Spain saved $55 million and eliminated 55,000 visits with a telemedicine program aimed at the elderly. The initiative is highlighted in a new series by CNBC and Philips.

The idea is to ease the healthcare burden on city hospitals.

About 18 percent of the region’s population is aged 65 and older, and many of the seniors have chronic conditions and reduced mobility. A centralized health platform focused on residents of Bilbao helps seniors gain healthcare access by phone, Internet and a patient monitoring system called TEKI, which Accenture helped develop.

The TEKI system borrows some elements from gaming. For example it uses motion sensors to help doctors assess patients’ mobility. Participants in the program also get a heart rate monitor and a spirometer to evaluate their respiration levels. The data is sent to the patient’s doctor who can decide if an in-person visit is necessary and who can write prescriptions.

Although in the U.S. there has been a slow growth of telemedicine, it tends to be focused on rural populations without convenient access to nearby physicians and where counties may lack a specialist. It is still at the pilot stage in other parts of the country. Private insurers are slowly warming up to it. Cigna, for example, has expanded telemedicine to self-insured members, although it has offered web visits through Relay Health to some members since 2007. WellPoint offers telehealth to members in California and Ohio. Aetna is working with Teladoc and UnitedHealthcare offers telehealth in 22 states.

Shares0
Shares0