Open4:TeleCare

The growing costs and demands on health and social care are leading to huge pressures to develop improved care of citizens in their own homes, using technology to deliver the services.

Telecare enables remote monitoring and alerting of client incidents to carers, so that sound responses to events can be made on a 24/7 basis. Electronic transmission of highly personal health or welfare information including video monitoring, though, can pose a severe threat to client confidentiality and safety.

Participants in providing such services to the elderly, infirm or disabled, need to be voluntary and private sector service providers, friends, family and key holders, as well as the Councils and PCTs that may run the care centres. With such a variety and scale, personalised care relationships for each client need to be established and enforced in the IT and communications infrastructure. Furthermore, clients have a right to choose to consent to many aspects of such monitoring, and expect such consent to be respected by all parties. Without such controls, the service is likely to be shunned.

Private and voluntary organisations have their own policies and responsibilities, too, so trust and accountability is fundamental. Legal disputes can be very expensive when things go wrong for organisations that have committed to providing such services.

Policy & Identity Management Solutions