What is "telecare"

n. healthcare facilitated by telecommunication technology.

Telecare is the term for offering remote care of elderly and physically less able people, providing the care and reassurance needed to allow them to remain living in their own homes. The use of sensors may be part of a package which can provide support for people with illnesses such as dementia, or people at risk of falling.

Most telecare mitigates harm by reacting to untoward events and raising a help response quickly. Some telecare, such as safety confirmation and lifestyle monitoring have a preventive function in that a deterioration in the telecare user's wellbeing can be spotted at an early stage.

Telecare is specifically different from telemedicine and telehealth. Telecare refers to the idea of enabling people to remain independent in their own homes by providing person-centred technologies to support the individual or their carers.

The meaning and usage of the term 'telecare' has not yet settled into consistent use. In the UK it is grounded in the social care framework and focuses on the meaning described above. In other countries 'telecare' may be applied to the practice of healthcare at a distance.

Telecare is an American TV channel available to Cablevision, Verizon FiOS, and Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Founded in 1969 by Monsignor Thomas Hartman of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York. Telecare broadcasts programming relevant to Catholic viewers, including live religious services, talk shows, devotional programs, educational programming, entertainment, and children's programs. It also presents coverage of special events at the Vatican and of papal journeys.