ANDOVER, Mass. and ST. LOUIS, Nov. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/
-- Mercy, one of the earliest providers of telehealth for
critical care in the U.S., and Royal
Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced that they
will collaborate to expand Mercy's telehealth services to include
medical and surgical hospital units. Telehealth enables clinicians
to remotely monitor and manage patients in any location and is one
of the fastest growing care delivery models. Mercy is currently
managing 430 intensive care unit beds with the Philips eICU program
and multiple Emergency Departments with the Philips Telestroke
Program, and will soon extend these services to medical and
surgical hospital units.
As patient acuity in hospitals continues to increase, care of
patients on medical and surgical units represents an area of
substantial unmet need and consumption of health care resources. By
2017, Mercy is planning to provide the Philips eAcute program to
1,500 acute care beds not only within the Mercy system, but across
the U.S.
The sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S., Mercy
operates 32 hospitals and 300 outpatient facilities across
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, as well as outreach ministries in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Mercy's eICU and telestroke programs
have been supported by Philips technology since 2006. The positive
impact of telehealth on length of stay, readmissions and patient
safety is a game changer and why Mercy is expanding into acute
care.
"We have never been more convinced of the power of telehealth to
improve patient access and outcomes and reduce costs," said
Lynn Britton, Mercy's president and
CEO, who will be participating in the "Telemedicine's
Expansive Potential" panel at this week's U.S. News & World
Report's Hospital of Tomorrow conference in Washington, DC. "Adding acute care telehealth
services is a natural extension of our successful eICU and
telestroke programs and will allow us to support our mission to
provide quality care to patients in need, regardless of
location."
Mercy expects to launch the Philips-enabled acute care program
by April 2014. In addition to
bi-directional audio and video access in patient rooms, the program
will include several key features that address:
- Readmissions reduction – Recorded discharge instructions,
uploaded into a patient engagement portal to reinforce self-care
and adherence to therapies at home.
- Increased patient safety – Automated monitoring of vital signs
with remote triggers around early warning signs, to avoid
complications, including cardio-pulmonary arrest.
- Increased patient satisfaction – Video visitation, enabling
patients to easily interact with family members and friends.
- Clinical best practices – Including early detection of sepsis,
pressure ulcer management and fall prevention.
Mercy's acute care program is designed to complement its home
care technology provided by Philips, all of which will be critical
components of the Mercy virtual care center, one of the first
freestanding facilities of its kind in the U.S. The center will be
staffed by hundreds of health care providers linked electronically
to Mercy and other partner hospitals, via telehealth
technology.
"With the right leadership, people and processes in place, Mercy
has become a model for how to roll out a coordinated telehealth
strategy that truly changes the way patients receive care," said
Brian Rosenfeld, M.D., Vice
President and Chief Medical Officer, Philips Healthcare Hospital to
Home. "Our acute care program builds on the success we've had in
the ICU, Emergency Department and the home, and we will continue to
partner with leading health systems like Mercy to expand telehealth
programs across the country."
For more information on Philips Hospital to Home coordinated
telehealth programs, please visit:
http://healthcaresolutions.philips.com/solution/hospital-to-home#clinical
About Royal
Philips
Royal Philips
(NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being
company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful
innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and
Lighting. Headquartered in the
Netherlands, Philips posted 2012 sales of EUR 24.8 billion and employs approximately
114,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100
countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and
home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new
lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and
oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at
www.philips.com/newscenter.
About Mercy
Mercy, with one of the largest single-hub
electronic ICU programs in the nation, launched one of the first
comprehensive, integrated electronic health records in the country.
In addition, Mercy is the first Epic user in the country to
implement EHR-automated care paths, including the development of a
virtual sepsis unit that automatically searches for more than 800
warning signs and greatly reduces mortality, length of hospital
stay and costs. As part of building a new model of care, Mercy has
also developed one of the world's top 10 health care supply
chains.
SOURCE Philips Hospital to Home