Making Use of Evidence in Commissioning Practice: Insights into the Understanding of a Telecare Study’s Findings

In less than a generation, telecare has become a significant new resource for local authority (LA) Adult Social Care Departments (ASCDs) in England and other European countries to offer to people eligible for social care and support. All English ASCDs either have directly managed, or commissioned, telecare services, and telecare is often used as a 'first line' service (that is, before other forms of intervention). The Whole Systems Demonstrator Project (WSD), a very large clinical trial funded by the English Department of Health (DH) concluded that it does not deliver better outcomes. Despite this, and in the context of unprecedented reductions in adult social care expenditure over the last decade (Innes and Tetlow, 2015), investment in telecare has continued in the UK. This article explores the extent and nature of the evidence used in LAs to support investment in telecare.