Strategic intelligence monitor on personal health systems, phase 3 (SIMPHS3) : TDP (United Kingdom), case study report

The Telecare Development Programme (TDP) case in Scotland (UK) is a patient-centred Integrated Care management process targeting the 65+ population in the country. It particularly addresses vulnerable subgroups of patients and patients with complex illnesses within the 32 communities across Scotland. The TDP case is a funding initiative developed between 2006 and 2011 by the Scottish Government in order to encourage the adoption of the telecare by health and social care services. It sought to demonstrate how telecare could contribute to support the safety and quality of life of older people and enable them to live at home longer, while significantly reducing the cost of health and social care services provisioning. During the period of 2006-2011, no less than 51 telecare projects were operating within all 32 Communities, covering the whole population of Scotland. The starting point of the TDP case was a change in the policy context that required a shift from a healthcare system oriented towards hospital-based treatment to a system based on preventive care to manage long-term conditions. TDP enables vertical integration within the Communities of Health Partnerships (CHPs), but should also promote full integration in a short to medium-term perspective, especially as the new legislative framework coming into force in March-April 2015 aims to integrate health and social care units, as a consequence of a recent health care spending review.