t-learning Case Studies - Healthcare consultations, UK

One aspect of the Birmingham NHS Direct Digital TV pilot project was the ability to have a remote consultation with an NHS Direct nurse via a TV set in the home. NHS Direct provides a national telephone help-line service. In the Birmingham area people with digital cable TV can request a video consultation through NHS inVision. When the NHS nurse is available they ring back the person in the home and create a one-way video link on the person’s TV. This means the person in the home not only sees the nurse but can also be shown various diagrams and videos to help explain the health-related enquiry.

It has been found that this video pilot consultation has taken less time on average than a telephone consultation, thus making savings in terms of the nurse’s time compared to the additional cost of the video link.

The same solution might also be used for distance learning purposes like providing a home tutor for a disabled person or as a supplement for a physical home tutor. However, such a service is still at a concept stage and it is difficult to identify where such a service would be sustainable until cost comparisons are made.

Media Logic provided the inVision service under the brand name of iSeeTV.

The service is one-way audio/video from the call centre to the home TV and two-way voice via a normal telephone between the call-centre and the home.

LivingHealth Interactive Services on the UK Telewest Digital Cable in the Birmingham area. This is the Main Menu of the NHS Direct inVision service which then describes in more detail how the service works.

The remote nurse advisor can be viewed on the TV screen although she cannot see the people in the home. Two-way audio contract is via a normal telephone. The remote nurse can call up additional graphics or video-clips to illustrate a point she wishes to make.

This is a mock-up of a potential distance learning or home tutor service with the tutor helping the student with maths problem.

Further information

Web site of iSeeTV