Dive Brief:
- Royal Philips unveiled new enterprise telehealth software for intensive care units during this week’s American Telemedicine Conference in Orlando, Healthcare IT News reports.
- The FDA-cleared eCareManager connects hospital staff with intensivists to get actionable insights on ways to improve outcomes for the sickest patients.
- eCareManager’s debut comes on the heels of a CMS-commissioned report showing Philips’ eICU platform saved Emory Healthcare $4.6 million and boosted outcomes across the organization.
Dive Insight:
Philips’ eCareManager targets a critical need. Intensive care patients require 24/7 care, but a shortage of intensivists and high patient volumes make that a challenge at many hospitals. Estimates of the number of hospitals offering teleICU are between 15% and 20%, according to Advanced ICU Care, which provides the service.
“When intensivists are not readily present, tele-interventionists take a more active role directing patient care, including intervening in urgent situations,” Lou Silverman, CEO of Advanced ICU Care, told Healthcare Dive recently.
The global teleICU market is expected to reach $5 billion by 2023, up from just $1.2 billion in 2015, according to Global Market Insights. Driving growth are an aging population and increasing incidence of chronic diseases like cancer and neurological disorders. Major players include Philips, Advanced ICU Care, Banner Health, inTouch and Inova.
Studies have shown the value of telehealth. In a recent Philips and Banner Health pilot program on intensive ambulatory care, hospitalizations fell by 49.5% for patients enrolled in telehealth, and overall costs dropped 34.5%. Use of telehealth services also led to 50% fewer inpatient days and a 75% decline in Banner’s 30-day readmission rate.
Philips’ eCareManager is device-agnostic, with the aim of easy integration with hospital IT systems.