Digital support
The Long Term Conditions Programme aims to increase digital support available to people living with long term health conditions in Edinburgh:
- we will support the spread and adoption at scale of proven digital technologies within services and support local service change and redesign as part of pathways of care.
- in partnership with Edinburgh’s Assistive Technology Enabled Care (ATEC24) Hub we will develop the use of telecommunications and virtual technology to deliver health care outside of traditional healthcare facilities.
You can find out more about how to use and access assistive technology in your home, visit our ATEC24 page.
Long Term Conditions Programme – Digital Support
We support health and social care teams to adopt the use of digital technology for the people that they provide care for. Below are some of the areas of digital support that are available.
Home and mobile health monitoring – Florence telehealth
Florence is an easy to use service designed to provide support for people to manage their own health conditions. Florence combines the expertise of the Health and Social Care professionals with the convenience of mobiles phones to provide text prompts and advice to act on.
One area that we have focused on is supporting people who have hypertension in Lothian to manage their condition.
Why focus on Blood Pressure telemonitoring?
- 31% of adult UK population have raised blood pressure
- In Scotland there are 1.2 million primary care appointments annually to check blood pressure
- Checking blood pressure at home can give a better reading than having it taken in a medical centre.
Find out more about Florence Telehealth
Find out more about monitoring your own blood pressure
Surgery Pod
Surgery Pod is a secure computer system which has the capability to accurately record patient data and take readings, such as weight and blood pressure measurements.
Some Medical Centres in Edinburgh are using surgery pods as an extension to patients’ consultations, allowing the GP or Practice Nurse to have key patient health information before a face to face consultation. This creates additional time for good conversations.
NHS Near Me
Where appropriate, you may be able to attend your consultation with your GP online via a video call. Video calling is as convenient as a phone call, with the added value of face-to-face communication. It can save you time and money, and brings your care closer to home.