Telehealth is a tool which can be used in a variety of ways; to support and enhance existing systems or to introduce a completely new way of working. Whilst telehealth is a relatively new concept in many areas, in others it is a more long-term feature of the health ecosystem.  In West Yorkshire, Immedicare offer a 24/7 digital care service to support primary care providers with the management of care home patients. Having been established for over 10 years, they know only too well what works, what does not and crucially how to realise the benefits of telehealth; enabling rapid triage and response around the clock, reducing secondary care admissions and relieving pressure on care home staff, local practices and PCNs. Rachel Binks, Nurse Practitioner for Digital and Acute Care at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, joins Ben this week to fill us in on the Immedicare journey and why they have been instrumental in improving health outcomes for their care home patients.

 

Introduction (34 secs)

How did the concept first come about? (46 secs)

The Immedicare journey (1 min 26 secs)

Enabling a 24/7 service (2 mins 11 secs)

800 care homes and counting (3 mins 43 secs)

How does the service work in practice? (4 mins 32 secs)

What is the contractual basis of the service and where does it fit with local providers? (5 mins 12 secs)

Managing a broad spectrum of conditions and health concerns (7 mins 13 secs)

The importance of building and maintaining relationships (7 mins 56 secs)

The Immedicare clinical workforce (9 mins 27 secs)

Making the service viable (10 mins 15 secs)

Balancing relationships with local PCNs and practices (11 mins 16 secs)

Multi-disciplinary team meetings (12 mins 59 secs)

What has been the impact of the service? (13 mins 36 secs)

Technical limitations? (14 mins 16 secs)

Reducing community care visits and admissions (14 mins 50 secs)

Aligning with new PCN services and staff teams (15 mins 51 secs)

Feedback from the care homes (16 mins 42 secs)

Financial and contractual setup (17 mins 14 secs)

What’s next as far as developing the service is concerned? (18 mins 23 secs)

Finding out more (19 mins 17 secs)

 

Immedicare website is here

Rachel is happy to discuss any aspect of the service on offer from Immedicare or telehealth more broadly. Her email address is here