Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of people who received telehealth and telecare services in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb

NHS England does not currently collect data about the number of people receiving telehealth or telecare services. The latest information held is from the Telehealth Services Association (TSA), which is the industry body for telehealth and telecare. In 2011 the TSA stated that in 2011 there were an estimated 1.37 million telehealth, telecare and telecoaching connections in England.

NHS England is establishing a regular survey to gather data on the number of individuals who benefit from telehealth and telecare, and is also developing a set of consistent measures for commissioners which will be more meaningful and demonstrate the impact of these technologies on health outcomes.

NHS England recognises the potential of these technologies to empower patients to take greater control over their conditions and provide care that is convenient, accessible and cost-effective. The ambition is to create the right commissioning environment that supports and encourages the use of technology that can improve care and outcomes for patients.