VoIP Platform based Telehomecare Application Kiosk

Health care services and systems throughout the world are in trouble and the proportion of expenditures devoted to health care is increasing rapidly. In addition to that, an increasing number of citizens is dissatisfied with the health services they receive and worry about the ability of the system to provide universally accessible care. One possibility to help to solve these problems is the adoption of Telehomecare for different health service scenarios. Telehomecare allows patients to remain at home as caregivers monitor them regularly using easy-to-use Telehomecare equipment. This ensures high-quality care, gives the patient more insight into his/her medical condition and enables caregivers to notice critical conditions and problems early. This paper discusses how Telehomecare can help, evaluates existing Telehomecare systems and describes the design and implementation of a modular Telehomecare system based on the Cisco IP Telephony Solution. The system includes components for regular monitoring, instant communication, emergency situations as well as for supporting health care institutions at different administra-