遠距照護於高齡化社會之運用

Telecare for the Geriatric Population in a Community

因應全球人口老化，遠距照護成為長期照護的策略之一。其以「個案管理」為概念，結合資通科技應用於健康照護，功能包括生理量測與記錄、異常緊急通報、用藥提醒、遠端醫議請詢，除了讓個案在熟悉的社區中受到照護，增強自我健康管理外，也可減少龐大的醫療費用。門諾醫院於東台灣推展遠距照護，包括（1）機構式服務：以養護中心住民為對象，提供專業團隊諾詢與藥事安全服務；（2）社區式服務：在山地及老人關懷據點，進行生理量測及健康促進活動；（3）居家式服務：針對慢性病個案或獨居老人，連結必要生活支援及生理量調l異常通報。遠距照護仍然需要許多異業資源連結及政府法令支持，才能提升民眾在長期照護的可近性，及落實高齡化社會「在地老化」的理念。

Telecare becomes one of the strategies in long-term healthcare for the growing aging population globally. With the combination of modern internet technology and the model of case management, the geriatric population in a community can receive health care, such as Tele-physiological monitoring and recording, Alert security advisory, reminders of medication administration, and Tele-healthcare consultation. By doing this, not only does the case obtain care in a familiar community and enhance self-health management, but a huge amount of medical expenses can also be reduced. The Mennonite Christian Hospital in eastern Taiwan developed Telecare services in three fields: (1) Institutionalized tele-service model: providing professional consultation and medication safety services to the nursing home residents; (2) Community tele-service model: providing tele-physiological monitoring and tele-health promotion activities for senior residents in rural areas, and (3) Home tele-service modle: offering living resources and tele-physiological monitoring to chronic disease clients and elderly who live alone. Successful implementation of telecare needs the combination of multidisciplinary professional resources and the government's support through establishment of policies. The ultimate goal is for the aging population to obtain accessible health care in their communities.