Have you heard of Technology Enabled Care Services? TECS for short.

It is actually an umbrella term for technologies such as telehealth, telecare, telemedicine and telecoaching. It focuses on patients with long-term or chronic issues that need daily care.

Technologies such as telehealth, telecare, telemedicine, telecoaching and self-care apps have the potential to transform the way people engage in and control their own healthcare, empowering them to manage it in a way that is right for them.

The Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) Resource for Commissioners has been developed by NHS commissioners to help maximise the value of technology enabled care services for patients, carers, commissioners and the whole health economy. This resource raises awareness of how the wide range of TECS can support commissioning intentions and benefit patients, commissioners, families, health and social care professionals and provider managers. It also addresses the demand from commissioners for information on how to commission, procure, implement and evaluate these types of solutions effectively.

What are Technology Enabled Care Services?

Technology enabled care services refers to the use of telehealth, telecare, telemedicine, telecoaching and self-care in providing care for patients with long term conditions that is convenient, accessible and cost-effective. We recognise the potential of these solutions to transform the way people engage in and control their own healthcare, empowering them to manage their care in a way that is right for them.

Our ambition through the Technology Enabled Care Services (TECS) programme is to create the right commissioning environment that supports and encourages the innovative use of technology to improve health outcomes for patients with long term conditions and deliver more cost effective services. We believe that by embracing this sort of technology, we can empower millions of patients to own their own care and transform the way we plan and deliver services to create a sustainable NHS for the future.

The TECS programme

NHS England’s TECS programme is focussed on delivering a set of practical tools and resources to address the demand from health and social care professionals for support and guidance on how to commission, procure, implement and evaluate so as to maximise the value of these types of solutions and services.

The TECS Improvement Plan has been developed with a broad range of stakeholders from the health and social care system and we are working with experts and leaders from across the NHS, social care, industry and the third sector to take forward the proposals set out in the plan.

To view our tools and resources for commissioners and other health and social care professionals, please see:

1. Strategic planning and commissioning resources: Access resources to support planning and commissioning of TECS programmes
   • TECS evidence database: Find recent research and evidence on TECS and the impact it had on patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness
2. Procurement resources: Access tools and resources to support procurement (coming soon)
3. Implementation resources: Access tools and resources to support implementation (coming soon)
4. Measurement and evaluation resources: Access tools and resources to support measurement and evaluation (coming soon)
5. Improvement resources: Access case studies on TECS
   • TECS Case study database: Read examples of how telehealth, telecare, and telemedicine projects have been implemented in the UK and internationally, what challenges they faced and their key learnings.

The TECS program was designed to create the right commissioning environment to support these innovations. Learn more by visiting here: https://bit.ly/3xq8tTf

Information courtesy of England NHS www.england.nhs.uk/tecs/