The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London is launching a new low-cost telehealth service in partnership with iPLATO Healthcare to support people with epilepsy.
Mobile and Internet Support for People with Epilepsy aims to help the hospital’s outpatients improve the management of their condition using their personal Internet and mobile technology.
The service has two components: mobile-based medication support and a web-based patient diary.
Medication Support will use text messaging to send reminders to patients, who will be able to choose their own level of personalised support – including the option of alerts for carers. The service will also support medication changes by reminding patients to adjust their dosages.
Patient Diary will assist the recording of essential information for epilepsy monitoring. Using a password-protected web interface, patients will have the opportunity to record seizures, injuries and medication profiles. They will be able to update some of the information by mobile phone, and to construct reports over a specific period.
Anthony Linklater, Epilepsy Specialist Nurse, said: “After a long period of preparation we are excited to be launching this service, which we believe will be of great benefit to our patients. If the service is positively evaluated, we are hopeful that it will grow in scope and sophistication over the next few years.”
“We believe there is a huge need for low-cost telehealth services in the UK and elsewhere,” said Tobias Alpsten, CEO of iPLATO Healthcare. “By delivering a service to devices that patients already own we dramatically reduce costs and reduce barriers to usage, while delivering solid health outcomes.”