Making cardiac telemedicine work

At an estimated£34bn a year, the cost of diagnosing, treating and caring for patients with cardiac-related problems represents the single largest financial burden on the NHS every year.

To ease the financial and operational burden on secondary and acute cardiac care providers, a model of more proactive and preventive cardiac care in a primary healthcare setting needs to be developed.

Early detection facilitates early action. Delivering timely and preventive treatment to patients will help to prevent avoidable hospital admissions, cut costs and release resources in secondary care, which can then be reallocated to other key areas.

Community services

Southampton City primary care trust has more than 250,000 registered patients and is committed to developing innovative ways to support people with cardiac care issues.

The PCT has been developing community-based cardiac specialist services for some time and has been keen to explore new models of care that guarantee quick, reliable results, thereby enhancing its community provision and helping to reduce the financial and operational burden of cardiac care on hospitals and acute care providers.

The trust successfully bid for an EU grant to introduce telemedicine projects and analyse their impact.

It opted for a cardiac telemedicine service provided by Manchester-based telemedicine specialist Broomwell Healthwatch.

The technology means readings can be carried out by all grades of staff, from GPs to nurses, before being sent off for analysis. The ECG is taken and then transmitted as a sound signal by landline or fax in just 45 seconds to Broomwell's monitoring centre, where it is displayed on screen for interpretation by trained cardiac clinicians.

Quick diagnosis

The monitoring centre's staff are able to give an immediate verbal interpretation by phone so that rapid action can be taken if necessary. A written ECG report is also returned by fax for inclusion in the patient's clinical notes.

Ultimately, the clinical responsibility rests with the patient's GP, who treats all chest pains cautiously in accordance with PCT guidelines. However, the telemedicine service has proved to be an invaluable clinical aid in preventing hospital admissions. The technology allows most patients to be reassured that their symptoms are not indicative of an immediate, threatening condition - therefore preventing unnecessary hospital visits.

Cardiac telemedicine has brought the expertise of leading cardiac clinicians straight to the heart of community care. This proactive, preventive approach is what is needed across the NHS, as it not only provides a more effective model of care for cardiac patients, but also helps ensure NHS resources are used as effectively as possible.

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