Intel inside UK healthcare

INTEL ANNOUNCED yesterday that the Intel Health Guide will now be available in the UK.

The INQ has already reported this latest initiative from Intel, yet we thought we’d let you know that it’s now coming to the UK – let’s face it, the NHS needs all the support it can get.

Additional localised European language versions of the Intel Health Guide will be announced throughout 2009.

Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of the Intel Digital Health Group said, “The Intel Health Guide is a step forward in offering more personalised and effective management of chronic health conditions in the home.

“Intel has spent years researching the needs of health care professionals, carers and patients, and we are now moving to launch a series of products that will help extend care from the hospital to the home. Our products will help address the challenges of an ageing population and rising rates of chronic disease.”

Intel is working together with health care industry leaders in Europe to demonstrate the clinical benefits of the Intel Health Guide for a wide range of chronic conditions.

European pilots are under way with health care organisations such as NHS Lothian, UK, the Institute for Prevention and Telemedicine (IPT) and the Academic Medical Center (AMC), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Martin Egan, Director of eHealth, NHS Lothian said, “We are delighted to be at the heart of this pioneering work through our pilot programme. Initial findings show that patients experience additional reassurance from the telehealth system and the early indications around the reduction of hospital admissions look promising.”

Tunstall Health care Group, a leading provider of telecare and telehealth solutions, is the first official market channel partner for the Intel Health Guide in the UK.

The Intel Health Guide is designed to be used by health care professionals to manage their patients’ health at home but is not available for general consumer purchase – for now at least. µ