Northwell Health, Philips partner to improve satisfaction with wearable, telehealth

Royal Philips has announced that Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare provider, has improved clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction by utilizing its IT strategy, the Philips Virtual Hospital Service with eICU technology and a Telestroke program.

The partnership, which began five years ago, focused on developing an eICU platform to enable providers from a centralized telehealth center to connect with critically ill patients in the ICU. The first two years of the partnership were spent collecting comparative data from ICUs to identify potential tele-ICU locations. Additionally, the Philips virtual care enterprise software suite collected data from patient electronic health records (EHRs) to build the eICU system.

Since implementing the eICU program, Northwell has reduced ICU mortality by 20 percent, doubled the number of patients assessed and prescribed blood clot medication, and doubled organ donation referrals.

“Our ultimate goal is to move from reactive to proactive care,” said Purna Prasad, MD, vice president and chief technology officer at Northwell Health. “This is much easier said than done, and it’s difficult to be proactive when the full patient view isn’t easily accessible. Through partnering with Philips, we’ve been able to use technology to build on the resources we already have, like our top notch staff, and become more efficient—ultimately better serving our patient population and delivering better care.”

Northwell extended the collaboration with Philips to pilot a wearable biosensor program within emergency departments. The wearable biosensor measures heart rate, respiratory rate, posture and can detect falls. Data are then sent to Philips IntelliVue Guardian Software for analysis and identification of patient deterioration.

Following initial tests, Northwell found 95 percent of patients reported the sensor was comfortable to wear on their chest, 73 percent felt better taken care of when wearing the sensor and 80 percent considered the biosensor to be innovative.

“Across the hospital, from the emergency department to the ICU to the general ward, clinicians are attending to patients with a wide variety of monitoring needs,” said Carla Kriwet, CEO Connected Care & Health Informatics, Philips. “We know that continual monitoring is critical to caregivers so they can detect early deterioration, and Northwell’s experience shows how innovative solutions enable hospitals to reach the quadruple aims of healthcare: Better clinical outcomes, lower costs and improved patient and caregiver satisfaction.”