遠距居家照護的現況與未來

The Present and Future of Telehomecare

許哲瀚(Che-Han Hsu) ； 唐憶淨(Yih-Jing Tang)

《台灣老年醫學暨老年學雜誌》 3卷4期 (2008/11) Pp. 272-285

https://doi.org/10.29461/TGG.200811.0003

摘要

國內高齡化的人口結構使得醫療服務與長期照護的需求大幅增加，發展「遠距居家照顧(tele-home care, THC)」成爲一主要方向。THC的優點是可以輔助家庭照顧者的照顧能力與改善生活品質，這些無需每日醫療協助的受照顧者，可藉由有線、無線傳輸通信和穿戴微小化的生理參數感應器(sensor)提供與專業醫護人員便利的雙向互動模式，減少雙方舟車勞頓，增加受照顧者活動的自由度(mobility)及其疾病的自主管理。
目前THC的服務功能包括：生理資訊的監測、定位與緊急通報救援、健康管理與人際互動的協助、照護服務的聯絡與協調。應用電話撥接、區域網路ISDN、光纖網路等，提供連結受照護者與系統端之照護服務功能。政府也已制定相關的發展計畫，鼓勵醫療機構、安養護中心與資訊科技廠商等合作，初步利用遠距服務建構機構式、社區型集中式照護及居家式照護系統，以提供受照護者一個舒適又便利的照護環境。
此外，發展THC應克服的關鍵因素有：經濟的考量因素、民眾的醫療習慣、法律問題及系統整合。透過解決這些因素，如果產品是一種人性化的設計且兼顧安全，僅需透過幾個簡易的按鈕就可以達到基本照護功能，相信是愈來愈可以推廣到各社會基層。未來的健康產業發展除了要延伸全人照護服務之深度與廣度，並以結合國內資訊技術的優勢，創新應用於健康照護服務，以因應人口結構老化所帶來的社會衝擊。

關鍵字

遠距居家照護 ； 長期照護 ； 居家照護 ； 老化

並列摘要

The ever-growing aging population in Taiwan has triggered a corresponding increase in the demands for medical and long-term care services which in turn contributes to the development of tele-home care (THC) as a cost-effective alternative care delivery approach. One advantage of THC is to improve the living quality of the elderly and their family attendants. By wearing the equipments of micro-physiological sensors with wired or wireless transmission, the care receivers who do not need daily medical assistance can communicate with medical care specialists on a real-time basis. Other advantages include reducing the travel inconvenience, increasing the mobility of caregivers and enhancing the ability of the elderly in self-disease management.
The present functions of THC service provide elderly patients with physiological information, geographical position and emergency advice through self-physiological sensors. Exchange of individual health information and communication between caregivers and care receivers are conducted through telephone, ISDN or optical fiber network that connects both ends of home care and system service. To date, the government has launched many advanced projects to encourage the integration among hospitals, long-term care facilities and IT industries. The initial goal aims at linking up institutional care, community-based care, and home care to provide a comfortable and convenience healthcare environment.
On the other hand, to sustain further development, THC needs to overcome several difficulties, notably cost factors, reception by the general public, legal matters, and system integration issues. Successful solution of these problems can be expected to render THC safer and more humanized and make it easier to penetrate the service in communities nationwide. In response to the impacts brought by the aging population, the health industry should not only strive to expand both the breadth and depth of holistic care but also make the best use of innovative technology to facilitate more efficient and cost-effective care delivery systems.

並列關鍵字

tele-home care ； long-term care ； home care ； aging