Telehealth deal struck between Care Innovations and Hugo Technology
Contract will see Hugo Technology provide repair, maintenance and telephone assistance
As the focus on telecare and telehealth solutions increases, supplier, Care Innovations, has appointed Hugo Technology on a three-year contract to provide repair, maintenance and telephone assistance for two of its core products.
The Midlands-based company will initially provide support across the UK and Ireland for Care Innovations Guide, a remote health management solutions system which connects patients to healthcare professionals from the comfort of their own homes. The contract also includes support for the Intel Reader technology.
Commenting on the deal, Trevor Powis, EMEA operations manager at Care Innovations, an Intel-GE company, said: “Telemedicine is already getting some traction and we needed to ensure our products were fully supported by specialists who both understood our systems and were able to repair the products where needed.”
On the decision to appoint Hugo Technology, he added: “Hugo was initially recommended to us, but the reason we went with them is because they were flexible, which is key for us. Several other providers saw Care Innovations as being backed by the giants that are Intel and GE, whereas Hugo understood we are still a fledgling business which requires our partners to tailor their services to meet our business demand. It’s rare for us to outsource any of our work, but this deal stacks up commercially and it’s definitely best for our customers.”
The announcement follows last year’s headline findings of the telehealth element of the Department of Health’s Whole System Demonstrator programme (WSD), the largest, randomised, control trial of telehealth and telecare in the world.
Set up to provide an evidence base of cost effectiveness, clinical effectiveness, organisational issues, effects on carers and workforce issues, the two-year telehealth trial revealed that, if used correctly, it can deliver a 14% reduction in bed days, 8% reduction in tariff costs and a 45% reduction in mortality rates.
Warwick Oakey, joint managing director of Hugo Technology, said: “Telemedicine is the way ahead, especially for patients with long-term health requirements, and Care Innovations is at the forefront of what, evidence suggests, will become a worldwide trend.”
According to the Department of Health, at least three million people with long-term conditions and/or social care needs could benefit from using telehealth or telecare and it has recently launched its 3millionlives campaign which aims to roll out assistive technology to those most in need.
