There’s an election looking in the UK, which is causing problems for the political parties.  Everyone knows that we need major public spending cuts, but no politician is going to risk votes by committing to anything too great.  So everyone is carefully skirting the issue, particularly where the NHS is concerned.  The British public have a love-hate relationship with the NHS.  They love to deride its inefficiencies and problems, but as soon as anyone attempts to take an axe to it, it transmutes into the most valuable aspect of being British. 

Of course, those of us involved with healthcare know that this is more than just an election issue.  The changing demographics mean that the NHS, and every other health system in the world is heading for financial meltdown.  Rather than acknowledge it, our politicians (even those who have been pushing through the U.S. Health reform bill) are doing little more than being fitted for their lemming suits and asking for directions to the edge of the cliff.  We cannot afford healthcare in its present form and we’re running out of time to address that inconvenient truth.

One straw that is invariable grasped and brandished is the potential of mHealth (or eHealth, telecare or eCare) to sweep away the costs.  So in the spirit of helping our flailing politicians, I thought it might be an opportune time to review how it’s doing. Continued…