Telenor looks at how mobile health can help the aging population

Article: 03 September 2010

Pilot project to use wireless technology to monitor seniors, helping them live in their own homes longer

Telenor is now testing technology that will make it possible for older people to live in their own homes longer. The pilot project, conducted by a research team based in Tromsø, Norway, takes a look at different in-home sensors that are wirelessly connected to the medical alert system. These sensors range from motion detectors to electronic pill dispensers. Through a wireless connection, caregivers can be alerted instantly to an issue in the home and provide immediate assistance.

mHealth is an area of great potential

“The combination of mobile devices and healthcare is today referred to as mobile health or mHealth. mHealth is a sub-set of eHealth and it is defined as the delivery of health-related services and information via mobile telecommunication technology,” explained Lilly Ann Stenvold, a mHealth researcher in Telenor Corporate Development. “The devices used can include mobile phones, PDAs, GPSs, medical sensors and even fitness sensors. By offering services related to health care, preventative medicine, fitness and lifestyle, mHealth is an area of great potential.”

Collaboration with the Center for Research-based Innovation

Stenvold has worked with telemedicine within Telenor since 1991. She is now actively involved in this latest mHealth pilot study on home monitoring systems for the elderly, a project conducted in conjunction with the Tromsø¸ Telemedicine Laboratory’s Center for Research-based Innovation and Telenor Norway.

“The purpose of this project is to help maintain a preferred way of living for elderly citizens, while cutting costs for healthcare services, as full-time care is quite expensive. If you can offer elderly people the opportunity to live in their own homes for one additional year, the savings are significant,” said Stenvold.

Challenges faced by the healthcare industry

Many healthcare providers today face major challenges due to rising costs, an aging population, manpower pressures, and the growth of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases.

“Utilisation of new technology within the health care sector is one way of increasing efficiency and productivity, and improving the overall quality of care. Wireless communication capabilities are increasingly being built into medical devices, which enables these types of new services,” said Stenvold. “Today even pill boxes can be connected, sending an alert to the home health service if the medication is not removed on a particular day.”

Increasing efficiency and productivity

In Stenvold’s home monitoring system pilot project for the elderly, increased efficiency and productivity are some of the key outputs. For example, rather than scheduling nurses to visit homes at fixed times, a home healthcare provider can offer targeted services that would allow nurses to attend to patients when there is an actual need, for example when a person has fallen and is unable to access the telephone or a manual alarm.

GSM Association and mHealth

Telenor Group is currently involved in the GSM Association’s Embedded Mobile initiative, and Stenvold has attended the sessions related to mHealth, focusing on case studies and the barriers presented by different markets. Privacy is an issue in many countries, and one of the greatest challenges is to move medical information into other systems.

“Through our collaboration with the GSM Association, we are better able to identify future mHealth opportunities,” said Stenvold. “The GSM Association plays a significant role in getting this market going, and we want to be right there with them.”