Andover, MA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG AEX: PHIA) today announced its continued commitment to driving the adoption of innovative telehealth solutions across the continuum of care with the latest version of its eCareManager software platform, now designed for acute care. A foundational technology powering  Philips Hospital to Home’s suite of telehealth programs, eCareManager 4.0 is now available to hospitals and health systems looking to expand telehealth capabilities into medical and surgical units. 

Acute care accounts for more than $370 billion, or 29 percent of annual healthcare costs  in the U.S. As telehealth programs incorporating Philips technology continue to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes in critical care and in the home, hospitals are increasingly realizing the value and impact of telehealth across medical and surgical units.

"While eCareManager is a critical piece of our offering, delivering higher standards of care requires more than technology alone," said Derek Smith, CEO of Philips Hospital to Home. "Working with our customers, the insights we’re able to derive from our patient-centric approach to telehealth result in vast improvements in outcomes and cost savings for hospitals and health systems alike."

Early Success in Acute Care Telehealth
eCareManager 4.0 provides proactive patient population management, advanced clinical decision support and care coordination tools which are critical to the Philips Hospital to Home eAcute program. Banner Health in Phoenix, Ariz. piloted an initial version of the Philips eCareManager platform in its medical and surgical units and uncovered care improvements. Compared to standard care and in partnership with the bedside team, the telehealth-based care delivery model in the medical/surgical unit:

• Reduced the length of stay by 17%
• Reduced the cost of care per case by 16%
• Reduced death or discharge to hospice care by 26%
• Reduced falls by 36%

"Continuous patient surveillance across the care continuum, partnered with Philips Hospital to Home tools and a telehealth team, can improve patient outcomes and reduce costs," said Julie Reisetter, RN, MS, Chief Nursing Officer, Banner Telehealth. "We’re excited to see the results of our early collaboration with the Philips Hospital to Home team with the release of eCareManager 4.0."

¹Source: Agency for Healthcare Resource and Quality (AHRQ). Statistical Brief #355 National Health Care Expenses in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2009, Jan. 2012

St. Louis, MO-based Mercy also recently went live with the eAcute program. Its initial goals are to reduce readmissions and lengths of stay, while increasing patient safety and satisfaction.

"Telehealth is proving to be a powerful approach to providing our patients with the best possible care, and enabling our care teams the support necessary to make faster and more informed clinical decisions," said Wendy Deibert, RN, BSN, vice president, Mercy Telehealth Services. "Philips Hospital to Home has been a valued partner as we’ve rolled out these efforts from the ICU to the home, and now to our medical and surgical units."

New Features Focus on Clinical Best Practices and Risk Prevention  

The expanded feature set in the eCare Manager 4.0 release extends to address the specific needs of acute care patients, including:

• Increased vital sign monitoring for higher risk patients and sophisticated clinical decision support to identify instability and facilitate earlier interventions;
• Focus on improving compliance with high priority best practices: sepsis management, fall prevention, pain management, etc.; and
• Care transitions support to facilitate discharge.

Philips is spotlighting eCareManager 4.0 at its booth (#4610) at the American Telemedicine Association’s 2014 Conference (ATA 14) being held this week in Baltimore, Md. For more information on the full suite of Philips clinical telehealth programs follow the #ATA2014 conversation @PhilipsHealth.