Several bills relating to telehealth and improving healthcare were recently introduced in US Congress. One of the planned programs is “The Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act (HR 477)” announced on January 16, 2007 which includes the “Telehealth Stroke Treatment Grant Program”. The grant program is a five year pilot project that would operate from fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

The goal of the program and supporting grants is to improve stroke patient outcomes by using telehealth networks to coordinate activities for stroke prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. The grants would also provide funding to emergency medical systems and improve access to high quality stroke care where there is a shortage of stroke care specialists and for populations that have a high incidence of stroke.

Across the atlantic ocean, the National Health Service (NHS) is s planning to deploy telehealth systems in homes around the United Kingdom.  Likely targeted for elderly and seriously ill individuals, it is not clear exactly which features the devices would include, although it's likely they would be equipped with sensors and possibly cameras.