According to Dr Claudio Lunghini, secretary and founder of 'Friends of Eleonora Onlus' (Amici di Eleonora Onlus, in Italian), the Non Profit Organisation (NPO) responsible for the project, ten patients from the region's five provinces have been selected based on predetermined criteria, and 
their home telemedicine workstations are being activated. He explained that these workstations enable a network connection (via personal computers, ADSL, video and dedicated software) with a central server and continuous round-the-clock monitoring for emergency intervention requests. This is to be carried out in close connection with the call centre identified by the NPO. A team of experts will be able to monitor remotely a patient's basic vital signs, such as body temperature, blood pressure and pulse oximetry.

Dr Lunghini further explained that 'Telecoma', in addition to telecare and telerehabilitation, involves mentoring for the concerned experts and training for the entire family in order to be able to interact primarily with the patient, as well as with the operating system.

"We should not forget that family members will become the "first doctor" of the patient, because they are present next to them on a daily and exclusive
basis (...): they are the ones who will notice whether there is an improvement or if an emergency could arise, and they are the ones who will have to take action in such an event; this is something they will learn how to do as they go," he stressed. "The intention is to create a type of hospital that is spread across the territory," he said, adding that telemedicine allows monitoring to be carried out in much greater depth as compared to the traditional home visit, which will go on in most of the cases.

"Telecoma will run for 24 months and these months will not only be used specifically for remote assistance, but also to assess the benefits for the individuals involved in relation to costs. To that effect, telemedicine, beyond an initial investment, provides considerable savings, which cannot be underestimated in times of crisis like this and in a region like Campania. The data from this clinical experience will be important for the continuation of the project as well as for its use in other sectors."

Dr Lunghini observed that the hospitals to which these patients are referred, perhaps due to an accident or ictus, do not ensure long-term care and the only alternatives are, unfortunately, nursing homes which are inadequately structured. In addition, he emphasised that throughout most of Italy, and especially in Campania, establishments are ill-equipped to hospitalise, monitor and rehabilitate such patients; as a result, the family becomes the best solution for the required treatment in most such cases. "Telemedicine becomes a means of vital support, overcoming geographical and economic barriers: the crisis in this regard is being felt with the local health authorities who do not pay social cooperatives that are involved in assisting patients and families," he said.

'Telecoma' was made possible through funding from the Foundation for the South (Fondazione per il Sud, in Italian).

Further information:

• Original news article - Telemeditalia (in Italian)

• 'Telecoma' project (in Italian)