'Smart' homes and telecare for independent living

Telecare services and 'smart' homes share a common technological base in in formation technology and telecommunications. There is growing interest in b oth telecare services and smart homes, although they have been studied in i solation. Telecare has been driven largely by perceived cost savings and im proved service delivery to the home, leading to improved quality of life an d independent living. Smart homes are also expected to provide better and s afer living conditions. The integration of the two should produce more secu re and autonomous living. There are different forms of telecare services, a s there are different types of smart homes, each ranging from basic systems involving the use of alarms and the ordinary telephone to intelligent moni toring with sensors and interactive communication. The introduction of thes e systems has policy implications, such as the need for coordination betwee n health, social services and housing policy makers, which will reduce dupl ication and inefficient allocation of resources. Successful delivery of tel ecare to the home is as much dependent on the construction and condition of the housing stock as it is on the ability of the care provider to meet use rs' needs. if the UK National Health Service (NHS) could replace a signific ant proportion of domiciliary nursing visits by telephone calls, then savin gs of up to pound 200 million per annum would be possible.