Reforming health care through information and communication technologies

With growing emphasis on an ageing society, and the increasing number of people with chronic conditions, both the World Health Organisation and European Union have suggested health care needs reform. The use of information and communication technologies, specifically telecare, is a possible catalyst for positive change within such reform. Based on a 12 month pilot study of telecare deployment for people with Chronic Heart Failure, this paper reports the findings and discusses some of the difficulties statutory services face when wishing to re-engineer services, especially the perceived levels of research evidence required to support the decision making process. Focus is also given to the hypothesis that if statutory services are unable to respond to the opportunities suggested by telecare then consumers are likely to drive change through private purchases. The challenge is therefore to develop a strategy and sustainable business model for a mainstream telecare service through a mixture of public and private initiatives.