Digital reablement – a personalised service to reduce admissions and readmissions to hospitals and nursing homes
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the importance of digital healthcare through telecare and portable assistive devices in supporting the reengineering of healthcare to deal with the needs of an older and more vulnerable population wishing to remain in their own homes.
Design/methodology/approach
It supports the importance of the assessment process to identify hazards associated with independent living, and the possible consequences of accidents. By measuring and prioritising the risks, appropriate management strategies may be introduced to provide a safer home environment.
Findings
A process for assessing and managing these risks has been developed. This can be applied to a wide range of different cases and yields solutions that can support independence.
Research limitations/implications
The developed digital reablement process can be used to provide vulnerable people with a robust form of risk management.
Practical implications
If telecare services follow the process described in this paper then they will improve the outcomes for their users.
Originality/value
The process described in this paper is the first attempt to produce a robust assessment process for introducing telecare services in a reablement context.
Keywords
Citation
Doughty, K. and Mulvihill, P. (2013), "Digital reablement – a personalised service to reduce admissions and readmissions to hospitals and nursing homes", Journal of Assistive Technologies, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 228-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAT-07-2013-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited