EXCLUSIVE: TEC digital transition and reducing the disruption of services

Gary Steen, Chief Technology Officer at Tunstall Healthcare, discusses the technology-enabled care (TEC) digital transition, the impact that this will have on service users, and how care providers can avoid any disruption in care provision to vulnerable people.

Over the next five years, we’re going to see both the technology, health and social care sectors experience huge change, with solutions for citizens and care settings revolutionised.

Digital products and services that have evolved from obscurity over the past 20 years have become indispensable domestic fixtures, and this evolution extends to our health, housing and care services. Whether it’s the use of virtual care platforms, remote monitoring solutions, communication tools, digital apps or sophisticated data platforms, services are entering a new phase of digital maturity.

Digital innovation can improve citizen experience, support better quality and greater reliability of service provision, and provide enhanced services which are tailored to meet specific needs. Through innovation and the digital transition, we can shape a system that is better able to serve people in such a fast-changing world.

Understanding the digital transition

Currently, most people have analogue phones that are charged by plugging them directly into a socket on the wall. As we see demand for technology such as laptops, tablets, and smart devices increasing, the UK’s communications infrastructure requires rapid change as features become outdated and unfit for purpose.

Globally, we all have an increased reliance on internet-based or digital services and are benefiting significantly, whether it be through more choice, value, greater availability, or convenience. Taking entertainment as an example, we have progressed from four television channels in the 1980s to an unimaginable choice of digital content at our fingertips on a choice of devices.

This has resulted in our national telecoms infrastructure providers upgrading their networks, gradually replacing analogue lines with digital ones, which will require phones to be connected to an analogue telephone adapter (ATA) box or router provided by the user’s communications provider. This modernisation will increase system capacity and capability, as well as provide a foundation for future technological innovations.

Digital telecare is fast becoming the industry standard, offering significant benefits over traditional telecare technology. A health and care system fit for the 21st century must have digital innovation at its core. To meet this demand the system must effectively transition and ensure minimal impact on service users.

The benefits of digitisation

When technology is embedded seamlessly into care and support services, it can be transformative, helping people to live happy, fulfilled lives in their homes and communities. Digital tools can also be used to identify risk, prevent incidents from occurring and ensure quick and appropriate responses to avoidable events.

Digital technology has the potential to transform care provision. From a robust infrastructure that is more reliable, faster calls that are carried over the internet rather than a physical wire, to greater capacity to cope with increased demands for broadband and Wi-Fi, the opportunities to more easily place citizens at the heart of decision making are limitless.

Developments in the provision, scale and quality of digital technology in service provision will lead to improvements in how stakeholders such as care, housing and the NHS are able to collaborate and therefore provide person centred care and support.

The digital transition brings a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise, improve and shift the sector and its thinking from a reactive, to a proactive delivery model, enhancing outcomes for citizens, improving efficiencies, and redesigning services around the user. The transition should provide a linear and more robust infrastructure, replacing an ageing system and making it more connected and reliable.

The current challenges

The overall number of people in the UK using community alarms and telecare systems is estimated to be 1.7m. It is also predicted that remote patient monitoring will have twice as many users globally in 2024; however, there is currently a ‘digital divide’ in the UK, putting those unable to access the internet at a disadvantage.

The transition to digital presents both opportunities and challenges to health, housing, and social care providers, and citizens. Digital telecare requires huge investment by service providers at a time when funding is increasingly restricted. Phasing investment means that providers can focus on what needs to be changed now, moving on to replace or upgrade other equipment in due course.

Many end users are unaware of the upgrade, and providers need to ensure they are not only prepared for the digital future in terms of equipment and services, but also in making sure their service users understand the impact of the switch on them in order to avoid any anxiety or distress.

Technology has historically been seen as additional to service delivery, rather than a means of transforming models of care, leading to difficulties in integrating technology effectively. In some cases, there is still a misapprehension that technology is a replacement for human contact, rather than an enabler for better services. Cultural change is required, which, in turn, needs early engagement.

Preventing service disruption

The move from PSTN to digital must not be underestimated. It doesn’t just affect the telecare industry, but all industries as they understand the power of digital and what that means.

As analogue lines are gradually replaced, solutions must be developed to support users to progress through the transition. Service providers still have significant time to prepare their upgrading of hardware and software. As many digital solutions are not yet mature and are likely to be superseded as technology advances, the option remains to choose shorter-term hybrid solutions. This will facilitate phased investment and implementation of robust, proven solutions that fit within digital strategies.

By working together, telecare providers can ensure health, housing and social care professionals fully understand the scope and scale of the digital challenges that may be presented and can implement an effective strategy to deliver digital solutions at pace. By offering end-to-end integrated and interoperable solutions that are underpinned by ongoing technical support, the impacts of the digital transition can be mitigated on end users.

The demographics of telecare service users and technology-based changes can be daunting. By empowering service providers and the population to be involved in service design, this will ensure all stakeholders will be prepared for the impacts of the digital transition. Citizens will become informed decisionmakers as opposed to passive recipients of care, and commissioners and providers will be able to effectively invest in intelligent solutions that will evolve as population needs change and technology advances.

The idea of new technology can trigger various reactions; however, telecare technology providers need to continue developing new products that will work on digital telephone lines and that will evolve over time with new digital functionality that offers digitised, interoperable connections. This, in turn, will support service providers in building partnerships, maximising the use of data, driving culture change, bringing staff with them on the journey and innovating how they work with people to access care and support.

Looking ahead

The digital transition is an opportunity to create a clearer and consistent approach to the delivery of care. The latest generation of digital technologies opens up a new world of possibilities when it comes to the provision of health and care, changing lives and transforming services. It is essential for providers to audit their services, implement rigorous testing, and devise strategies that prevent disruption for end users and provide robust and secure solutions.

Digitisation is set to touch every corner of the health and social care sector. While technology has sometimes previously been viewed as an additional aspect of service delivery, the digital transition must be planned embedded into service delivery for if we are to successfully transform existing models, and to provide more intelligent solutions and better services.

Increasing system capacity and capability, as well as providing a foundation for future technological advancement, will see health and care services more able to effectively meet the changing demands of our population.

Access to assistive technology is a human right, and a precondition for equal opportunities and participation. The transition offers opportunity for improved safety, better service provision, a more proactive and preventive approach, increased efficiency and more integrated services. Upcoming solutions will provide more reliable connectivity, better protocol adherence, greater functionality and encompass lessons learned from other early adopters.

For more information on the digital transition, click here.