UK Study: Telehealth Interventions Can Slash Mortality Rates by Nearly Half

Tags: Department of Health | health IT | HIT | telehealth | Whole System Demonstrator

Initial findings indicate that telehealth interventions can reduce patient mortality rates by 45 percent, according to a U.K. Department of Health report (pdf).

The findings are based on the Department of Health's Whole System Demonstrator program, which was launched in 2008 to study telehealth and telecare. The telehealth trial included 3,030 people with diabetes, heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  

Early results also show that telehealth can reduce emergency admissions by 20 percent, elective admissions by 14 percent, bed days by 14 percent and tariff costs by 8 percent.

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