- Telecare
Telecare is the term given to offering remote care of elderly and vulnerable people, providing the care and reassurance needed to allow them to remain living in their own homes. The use of
sensors may be part of a package which can provide support for people with illnesses such asdementia , or people at risk of falling.Telecare by nature is reactive, not preventive, as it will not prevent falls or floods but can allow others to react to their occurrence.
Telecare is specifically different from
telemedicine andtelehealth . Telecare refers to the idea of enabling people to remain independent in their own homes by providing person-centred reactive technologies to support the individual or theircarers .In its simplest form, it can refer to a fixed or mobile telephone contact to monitor or to inform of any development. A technologically more advanced solution is through the use of sensors, wherein a range of potential risk situations including wandering (particularly useful for people with cognitive impairment), falls, as well as environmental issues such as floods, fire and gas leaks. When a sensor is activated it sends a radio signal to a central home unit, which then automatically calls a 24-hour monitoring centre where highly trained operators can take the most appropriate action, whether it be contacting a local key holder, doctor or the emergency services.
Telecare also comprises standalone telecare which does not send signals to a response centre but supports carers through providing local (in-house) alerts in a person's home to let the carer know when a person requires attention.
The term telecare has been deployed by some providers to infer medical claims but telecare is grounded in the social care framework. It supports people and their carers, and can be of benefit to people of all ages.
Technological advances result in the possibility of promoting independence and for providing care from the social initiative sector, which now contemplates e-Care solutions, navigation/positioning systems, such as
GPS for persons with cognitive impairment among other innovative solutions.ee also
Assistive technology External links
* [http://www.isft.net/ International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth]
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