The Importance of Tunstall's Integrated Care Platform During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Importance of Tunstall's Integrated Care Platform During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light new challenges in the way we currently deliver healthcare for the wider population. In this article, you’ll learn how Tunstall Healthcare’s Integrated Care Platform (ICP) is challenging and changing the face of healthcare for the better.
In this article:
Who is Tunstall Healthcare?
What is Tunstall Healthcare’s Integrated Care Platform (ICP)?
How does the ICP help during the pandemic?
Who is Tunstall Healthcare?
Tunstall Healthcare is a data-driven and technology-enabled Connected Care and Connected Health provider committed to empowering people with the ability to live safe, confident, and independent lives.
Our 60 years of worldwide experience enables us to deliver innovative, end-to-end monitored assistive technology solutions that make healthcare accessible to the most vulnerable. We empower people to regain control of their care and independence—all with the assurance that help is one call away.
What is Tunstall Healthcare’s Integrated Care Platform?
At the heart of Tunstall Healthcare is our patient-centred Integrated Care Platform, or ICP.
With ICP, we connect a range of healthcare devices and platforms that help monitor your vital signs and health conditions from your own home. This provides you with an informed picture of your health at any given time, allowing you to understand and manage your at-home care or reach out for medical assistance during emergencies.
How does Tunstall Healthcare’s ICP work?
Tunstall’s ICP works by integrating you into the Connected Health system. Next, our portfolio of innovative healthcare devices and platforms monitor your vital signs in real-time, which can also be accessed via a mobile app.
This health data is then compiled, recorded, and sent to our 24-hour clinical team that assesses your condition. The team will contact your care team to assist you should your clinical health data reflect abnormal readings.
Having access to real-time and historical health data doesn’t just help you take control of your health; it also grants your caregiver, doctor, and healthcare team immediate access to your clinical data. This allows them to craft a tailor-fit solution that addresses your immediate condition and improves your lifestyle in the long run.
Tunstall Healthcare’s Integrated Care Platform
Who can use Tunstall Healthcare’s ICP?
We understand that everyone’s healthcare needs are different and always advocate for solutions customised to those needs. Our Connected Health service is the ideal solution for you and anyone who lives with any of these conditions:
Congestive heart failure
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Cardiovascular disease
Asthma
Diabetes
Hypertension
Cystic fibrosis
Renal conditions
What issues have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic?
All age groups across the population are susceptible to COVID-19. However, the elderly are extremely vulnerable due to lowered resistance caused by ageing and comorbidities, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO and leading health institutes have since advocated for COVID-19 health measures — primarily frequent handwashing, mask-wearing, and social distancing — to mitigate the disease's spread. Countries that have strictly enforced these measures are seeing reduced COVID-19 cases. However, the same measures implemented to curtail the pandemic's spread also create problems that negatively affect the older population’s health. This is especially true for social distancing.
Interrupted day-to-day activities
Social distancing minimises the already limited mobility of the elderly. City-wide lockdowns have relegated much of the older population to remain in their homes for the foreseeable future. These restrictions mean that many older people are no longer able to carry out their day-to-day activities, including daily physical exercise or gatherings with their peers.
Hampered medical assistance
The WHO puts COVID-19s transmission rate between 2 to 2.5, making it twice as contagious as the regular flu. Because the disease is easily transmitted, many healthcare workers are anxious about bringing the virus to nursing homes and infecting their elderly patients. This hampers the ability of caregivers and healthcare workers to assist the elderly.
Increased social isolation
Continued social distancing and prolonged lockdowns have disrupted the regular operations of many elderly homes and social services across the globe. As such, members of the older population are experiencing a growing sense of social isolation, which affect their mental wellbeing.
What are the benefits of ICP for healthcare during the pandemic?
Through Connected Health, caregivers and healthcare workers can continue monitoring people from the comfort of their home. This ensures that you and your caregiver continue to practice social distancing protocols without dampening the quality of care you'll be receiving.
Tunstall’s range of Connected Health apps and peripherals are linked to ICP, which track your vital sign readings through health interviews completed each day. This data can be accessed in real-time by your healthcare provider, who can then use the information to provide you with the necessary medical assistance. All this can be done without you ever needing to leave your home.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many challenges in the elderly healthcare industry. However, it has brought to light the opportunity to live in a time where remote monitoring and Connected Health are the "new normal."
These innovations, including Tunstall Healthcare’s ICP, are paving the way to a more patient-centred form of healthcare, providing better outcomes and greater wellbeing for patients.
Want to find out more about how Connected Health works, and the potential benefits for both clinicians and patients? Contact us to learn more about Tunstall Healthcare’s ICP and Connected Health.
