O2 Health to deliver better self care for patients and smarter working practices for staff

Wednesday 21st July 2010

Patients will increasingly be put in control of their own health as part of a new vision for healthcare outlined by O2 Health (Monday).

Launched this month (July) O2 Health is a new business area, within leading communications company Telefonica O2 UK, dedicated to the healthcare market. Already working with the NHS and private healthcare companies, O2 Health will aim to affect positive change across the NHS which puts patients at the centre of their care by forming genuine partnerships with healthcare providers to gain a deep understanding of their challenges, before deploying bespoke solutions that create benefits for patients and health workers alike.

At a time when spending on global healthcare is set to grow by 5.5 per cent a year and the NHS is expected to make more than £20bn in efficiency savings, O2 Health seeks to help the NHS and other healthcare providers do more for less.

Keith Nurcombe, Head of O2 Health, said: "This is not about mobile-health or e-health, this is about patients. Our patient-first approach is groundbreaking within the industry.  We are already starting to see real benefits – improved patient care and efficiency savings where we have been working with health providers.

"The NHS is looking for ways to do more with fewer resources, but this can't be at the expense of patients, service or standards. We understand the NHS, and can help it – and our private partners – to deliver more for less through smarter working."

Ben Dowd, Business Sales Director of O2 said: "Now is the right time to launch into the health market. Just last week the government set out its desire to put patients at the heart of their own care and it is an aim shared by O2 Health. The UK has an ageing population with increasingly complex healthcare needs but resources are limited. Healthcare providers need to look for innovative ways to provide patients with more choice and control over their care.

"We've listened to our existing healthcare customers and have developed solutions that will deliver real benefits. Our patient centred approach, combined with a team with real experience of working in the health sector, means we are well positioned to deliver real change in healthcare provision."

O2 Health is already helping to improve patient care by providing the NHS with cost effective ways of delivering more efficient provision in the community and in hospitals.

O2 Health works together with healthcare providers to find the right uses of O2 health technologies which enable patients and healthcare providers to find new ways of managing their care in their own home or release staff from the burden of unnecessary administration.

O2 Health seeks to provide organisations and individuals with the tools and technology to:

* Deliver effective and intelligent systems to help people manage their own health and long term conditions that reduce the need for hospital visits. For example, installing wireless systems that enable people with Diabetes to manage their condition on their terms, removing needless hospital visits, or in extreme circumstances, avoiding an emergency admission. Patients can take daily glucose readings anywhere using their glucometer and communicate back to the health professional or monitoring centre via their mobile – allowing management by exception and alerts of unusual results.

* Provide the NHS and private healthcare organisations with cost effective ways of delivering a more efficient service in the community and in hospitals.  For example providing patients with tools that enable them to carry out rehabilitation exercises at home after an operation or injury, under the supervision of their physiotherapist but without the regular visits. Patients carry out pre-determined rehabilitation programmes shown on a TV screen, with progress monitored remotely via movement sensors and data capture tools. Data is communicated back to the physiotherapist for ongoing evaluation - freeing the physiotherapist's time to see other patients.

* Release staff from unnecessary administration burdens by helping them to work smarter. By working with healthcare providers to find mobile working solutions for health teams visiting patients in their homes O2 health have helped to free up healthcare professionals time to care by reducing admin and travelling time.  This enables staff to schedule jobs electronically and update patient records remotely using a mobile device, removing the need for the health worker to travel back to base.

O2 Health

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