Monitoring and treatment of chronic patients through uHealth: Keys to sustainability (efficiency) and quality of care

Authors

  • Javier Cabo-Salvador Universidad Internacional de Andalucía [UNIA] / Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, España
  • José Manuel Velarde IHM-Medical Technology / DRIMAY Consultores España
  • Verónica Cabo Muíños Universidad Internacional de Andalucía / Universidad Católica Nordestana
  • Carlos de Castro Lozano Universidad Internacional de Andalucía / IHM-Medical Technology / Universidad a Distancia de Madrid / Universidad de Córdoba
  • Javier Ramos López Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18046/syt.v16i45.2895

Keywords:

Elderly care; chronic patients management; ICT; uHealth; efficiency; health and social care.

Abstract

This paper proposes an integrated model of social-health resources management. The authors present the actual challenges for health care, in an environment characterized by longer life expectancy and an increase in the number of patients with chronic pathologies, in a scenario of both, economic and financial crises. Their presentation includes management and financial issues, and the technological trends –such as the development of personalized and regenerative medicine– which will lead to an increase in health spending. The task of facing these challenges, they explain, cannot be postponed, the goals should be to improve: the efficiency in the use of health resources, the quality of health care and the level of patient satisfaction. Finally, they present some concepts about the application of information and communications technologies in health, show its relationship with the chronic patient care and present both, the current management models for this type of patient and the new proposed model.

Author Biographies

  • Javier Cabo-Salvador, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía [UNIA] / Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, España

    Doctor in Medicine and Surgery from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain). Fellowship in Cardiovascular Surgery at the Universities of Harvard (Cambridge, MA), Washington (Seattle, WA), Loma Linda (CA) and Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA). Medical Specialist in Cardiovascular Surgery. Honorary Doctor from the Universidad Central del Este and from the Universidad Católica Nosdestana (República Dominicana). Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the International Who's Who Historical Society. Director of the Chair of Biomedical Research at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (Spain). Director of the Health Sciences Department and the Chair of Health Management at the Universidad de Madrid [UDIMA]. Director of the Chair of Biomedical Research at the Universidad Católica Nordestana. Director of the Cardiovascular Department at the Hospital Vithas Nisa Pardo (Aravaca, Spain).Member of the Health Advisory Council for the Government of Spain. Member of the National Commission of Specialists in Cardiovascular Surgery of the Ministry of Health; Advisory Member of the National Institute of Health Management. Member of the Panel of Experts of the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products of the Government of Spain.

  • José Manuel Velarde, IHM-Medical Technology / DRIMAY Consultores España

    Partner of Drimay Consultores. Specialist in planning, analysis, design, development and implementation of health and socio-health information systems. Degree in physics. Advanced Management Program (Instituto de Empresa). Member of the Academic Committee of the Master of the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain): Design, implementation and operation of socio-health information systems. Its activities include: the direction of the development and implementation of the Diraya program for the Andalusian Health Service; the design and implementation of the Citizen Attention Center (Salud Responde) for the of Health Counseling of the Junta de Andalucía; the Information Systems Plan for the Ministry of Health of Tunisia; the Integrated Health Management System for the State of Acre (Brazil); the electronic prescription systems; the elaboration of the Integral Model of Management of Results in the Socio-Sanitary Attention (MIGRASS); and the creation of context analysis for the measurement of efficiency in public management.

  • Verónica Cabo Muíños, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía / Universidad Católica Nordestana

    Degree in Pharmacy from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). Specialty in Clinical Analysis (MIR training) in the Biochemistry Service at the Hospital Virgen de la Salud in Toledo (Spain). Specialist in Management of Assistance Processes with ABQ Methodology and Master in Advanced Clinical Management from the Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA). Specialist in Human Reproduction Assisted from the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain). She is Director of Assistance Projects for IHM-Medical Technology.

  • Carlos de Castro Lozano, Universidad Internacional de Andalucía / IHM-Medical Technology / Universidad a Distancia de Madrid / Universidad de Córdoba

    Doctor of Sciences from the University de Córdoba [UCO], Spain. Professor of Systems Engineering of the Computing Department of the UCO, expert in multimedia systems, human computer interaction, usability and Web accessibility, and interactive systems. Director of the Digital Contents Experimentation and Production Center of the UCO (Red.es) and the CRUE (CITEC). Director of the EATCO (Teaching and Learning by Communication Technologies) research group. Scientific director and creator of the products: iFreeTablet, iFreeTV, iFreeSIN, iFreemovil, Siesta, SiestaTV, SiestaCare, SiestaDomo, Wikicourses, and Tu-Learning. Responsible for wikicourses at the REDAuti of the CYTED. Coordinator of the EVA (Virtual Learning Spaces) Network at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (Spain). President of the Fundación Red Especial España (FREE). Scientific Director of the Multimedia Production Center for Interactive Television (CPMTI) and of the Center for Multimedia and Animation Innovation (CIMA).

  • Javier Ramos López, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid

    Rector at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid [URJC], Spain. Doctor of Telecommunications Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). Former postdoctoral researcher at Universidad de Purdue (West Lafayette, IN). Ericsson Award for the best doctoral thesis awarded by the Official College of Telecommunications Engineers. Professor in the area of ​​Signal Theory and Communications at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (1999-2003). Professor of Signal Theory and Communications at the URJC (2011). Director of the Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering of the URJC (2005-2017). Fellowships at the Universidad de Minnesota (Minneapolis-MN, 2010) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT (Cambridge-MA, 2013). He has four research six-year terms and four five-year teaching periods. His areas of research are signal processing and information and its application to wireless communications and the processing of information on health problems (Big Data & eHealth).

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Published

2018-03-06

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 45: April - June, 2018

Section

Discussion papers

License

This journal is licensed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode).