ANDOVER, Mass., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today
announced the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VA) is expanding
its use of Philips Hospital to Home telehealth solutions across two
additional Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). Through
the Philips eICU program, VA Healthcare System of Ohio (VISN 10) will now remotely monitor and
manage ICU patients in VA Southeast Network (VISN 7), while VA
Midwest Health Care Network (VISN 23) will now care for VA
Heartland Network (VISN 15). This expansion extends eICU critical
connected care services to veterans across more than 2,000 miles,
from Georgia to North Dakota.
Since its inception, the Philips eICU program – connecting care
with digital solutions and services that span the health continuum
– has grown substantially within the VA. The largest integrated
health care system in the U.S., the VA consists of more than 1,700
sites and serves nearly nine million veterans each year. While the
healthcare industry faces a shortage of intensivists, the VA
organization manages more than 1,800 ICU beds nationwide and
remains committed to providing veterans with access to quality
care.
A longtime leader in telehealth, the VA worked with Philips to
establish two enterprise telehealth centers – in Cincinnati (VISN 10) and Minneapolis (VISN 23) – where clinicians
provide remote care to veterans not only in their territories, but
also in rural and suburban areas that have limited access to ICU
facilities. The telehealth team uses advanced analytics and
technologies to coordinate care for ICU patients.
"The Philips eICU program at the VA has been key to not only
expanding access to care, but also ensuring veterans receive the
right level of care in the right facilities," said Brian Rosenfeld, M.D., vice president and chief
medical officer of Philips Healthcare Hospital to Home. "This means
more veterans can stay in their local VA hospital and avoid the
stress of transferring to other critical care centers. Because it
reduces overall patient's length of stay, our program also reduces
cost and increases the VA's capacity to care for more
veterans."
The Philips eICU program is part of a suite of enterprise
telehealth programs delivered by Philips Hospital to Home to help
improve outcomes, provide better value and expand access to care in
both the inpatient and ambulatory settings. These programs use a
proactive care model to clinically transform the ICU,
medical/surgical units and home healthcare to address growing
clinician shortages while improving quality of care. Blending
medicine with technology, this care model leverages clinical
expertise, patented processes and innovative solutions to improve
care delivery. Hospitals utilizing the Philips eICU program were
shown to reduce mortality by 26 percent and length of stay by 20
percent in a recent large, multi-center study of 119,000
patients.
For more information on Philips Hospital to Home clinical
programs, please visit: http://www.hospitaltohome.philips.com.
For further information, please contact:
Kathy O'Reilly
Philips
(o) 978-659-2638 (mobile) 978-221-8919
Kathy.oreilly@philips.com
Twitter: @kathyoreilly
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 2013 sales of EUR 23.3 billion and employs approximately
115,000 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.
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SOURCE Royal Philips