OBS Medical

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 interview on Fluctuating blood pressure ‘risk’, with Professor Peter Rothwell, neurologist.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8563000/8563621.stm

Read the BBC article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8562830.stm

Oxford, UK-25th August 2009 – t+ Medical today announces that it has launched its new product t+ blood pressure lite which enables NHS healthcare professionals to effectively monitor their patients’ blood pressure without patients having to leave their home.

t+ blood pressure lite is the latest in a range of products from UK based t+ Medical, which uses the mobile phone or internet to monitor and manage health conditions. The use of t+ blood pressure lite enables health care professionals to monitor their patient’s blood pressure without the inconvenience of having to visit the surgery each time.

GP Dan Lasserson from Jericho Health Centre, Oxford said

Improving our diagnosis and management of hypertension is key to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease. The BP lite system will allow us to make decisions much more accurately and it is more convenient for patients. Embracing new technology is essential for modern primary care so that we can work together with our patients to prevent the major diseases that cause disability and shorten life expectancy.

The system has already been trialed, and is continuing to be used by the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. It was found that home monitoring of patients blood pressure using t+ blood pressure lite was feasible in most patients following a mini-stroke (TIA), irrespective of age, and patient satisfaction was high. The home monitoring was able to identify masked hypertension and led to improved blood pressure control.

Business Development Director at t+ Medical Rob Halhead said:

t+ blood pressure lite is another example of our innovation. Our purpose is to use everyday technology which is familiar, cost effective and easy for patients to use to enable the NHS to deliver radically improved healthcare outcomes and at significantly lower cost. We take a collaborative approach with us wherever we go and we’re delighted with the improvements we’re helping our NHS colleagues to deliver in Oxfordshire.

For further information contact  01235 432050, or email info@tplusmedical.com

t+ Medical®, the UK’s leading supplier of telemedicine solutions for chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma, announced today that they are now offering their disease management system at no cost to all appropriate patients.

By removing the barrier of cost to the end users, it is hoped more patients with long term conditions (LTC’s) such as Asthma, Diabetes, Blood Pressure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) will be able to take advantage of the t+ system and therefore improve the management of their condition.

Long term conditions currently account for 80% of GP visits, and the prevalence of such conditions in the UK is expected to reach 30% by 2025. The implications of this increase will lead an already stretched National Heath Service to breaking point. It is therefore clear and accepted that the current explosion in chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD and other respiratory complications requires a new model of healthcare provision. Telemedicine is the only way to prevent healthcare systems around the world from going bankrupt.

Through effective observation of vital signs and symptoms, combined with a healthcare monitoring center, it has been clinically proven that exacerbations and emergency admissions can be dramatically reduced. t+ Medical® offer a solution to monitor a patients symptoms and vital signs through harnessing the power of the patients own mobile phone. The diary is fully interactive with the data entered by a patient being immediately interpreted and then fed back to them in the form of simple graphs, both on their mobile phone-and on a personal web page. This allows the patient to track their condition, and monitor their vital signs giving them greater insight into their disease day by day.

John Buchan, Director of Sales and Marketing at t+ Medical® said

We are delighted to now be in a position to offer our disease management systems without a charge to our patients. People with LTC’s often end up spending unnecessary time at their GP’s surgeries-or even worse being admitted to hospital, as a result of poor disease management. Through the power of the t+ system and their own mobile phone we hope these patients will now be able to monitor and manage their own condition more effectively and therefore reduce the strain on the NHS and themselves of emergency admissions and additional complications. There are currently 1.6 million people in the UK who could benefit from using the t+ system, and now with the removal of all cost barriers, they can begin to benefit through taking some control and monitoring their own disease management.

t+Medical have now launched a patient forum, as the latest addition to their disease management website. Patients with asthma, diabetes and blood pressure, who are registered on the t+ disease management system, will now be able to use the forum to exchange comments and feedback regarding their long term conditions, disease management, and other useful information.

For ease of use, the forum is divided into each of the specific disease areas that the t+ system supports: asthma, diabetes and blood pressure. In addition there are sections on t+news, t+products, and a general section to support individual discussion. The Health Club will be updated with useful diet information, and healthy eating recipe ideas for users to try.

According to t+Medical Nurse Advisor Ciara McGuinness

The forum will provide an excellent opportunity for patients to chat with one another and compare stories on managing their conditions. Any problems or anxieties they may have can be discussed with others going through the same experience. It will allow them to speak freely amongst themselves, without the influence or judgement of their GP or nurse.”

t+ Marketing Manager Anna Griffiths said

The idea of the forum is to get our users chatting and sharing useful information between themselves, and with us. Coping with a long term condition such as Diabetes can sometimes be a lonely experience, so hopefully the forum will provide somewhere for our users to chat with one another. From a t+ perspective the forum is an excellent platform for us to communicate with our users directly, so we can share product updates, news and information as it happens.

To access the forum just click on the link below
forum.tplusmedical.com

For further information please contact t+ Medical on 01235 432050 or info@tplusmedical.com

The t+ Medical system has been accepted onto the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) listing for telehealth. t+ has signed a partnership agreement together Vivatec in order to provide a complete telehealth and telemedicine solution.

PASA works to ensure that the NHS in England makes the most effective use of its resources by getting the best possible value for – when purchasing goods and services. The NHS PASA telecare team provides NHS trusts, health authorities, local authorities and social services with market knowledge, advice and national framework agreements for telecare and telehealth solutions.

Vivatec is an independent supplier of Telecare products and services and are part of the Intersurgical group; the leading European manufacturer of respiratory systems for hospitals.

www.vivatec.co.uk

The current PASA agreement for telehealth will run until June 2010.

For further details of t+ Medicals’ PASA pricing please contact info@tplusmedical.com or call 0800 389 3205.

A new blood pressure management system, available on mobile phones, could help the 16 million people in the UK with high blood pressure defend themselves against developing serious complications which can result in heart attacks, strokes or kidney failure.

t+ medical has pioneered a way to help people take control of long term conditions by turning the everyday mobile phone into a personal healthcare management system. Proven to improve the management of blood pressure, the t+ blood pressure personal management system gives people instant personal feedback from their blood pressure radings, helping them to spot day-to-day fluctuations, which can have a devastating long-term impact if they are not monitored carefully.

The data is also transmitted to a website for detailed analysis, allowing any healthcare professional appointed by the user to view their results and determine the most effective course of action. t+ medical also have a t+ Specialist Nurse on-hand to answer any specific medical questions which come through to the customer support team.

“High blood pressure is a huge problem in the UK which can lead onto other serious health problems. Allowing patients to manage the condition themselves and providing instant feedback helps to lower the risks involved without having to come into the surgery,” comments Dr Jeremy Wheeler, GP. “Many patients are unsure exactly what causes and influences their blood pressure rate and so they are often reassured by the fact that their GP or practice nurse is monitoring their progress, giving advice when necessary.”