Perhaps this Editor has attended too many new-company pitches of late, but there is another US ‘gold rush’ similar to EHRs (2009-12). This time, the gold glinting in the stream is reducing same-cause (disease) readmissions after the patient departs through the hospital doors. The latest prospector with pan, pick and shovel, quite amazingly, is Philips USA with the Transition to Ambulatory Care (eTrAC) (!) post-discharge program. Their first two applications, eCareCoordinator and eCareCompanion, just received FDA 510(k) clearance.
eCare Coordinator is a population health management tool for the clinician which tracks individual patient data and care plans daily for review and clinician adjustment. The patient-facing eCare Companion is a tablet-based telehealth portal which connects to various devices that take their vital signs. It also issues reminders and directs to clinician-directed queries on their health. According to the release, they are piloting with Banner Health, an ACO in Arizona and shortly launching at Henry Ford Health System in Michigan. Their ‘hospital to home’ website page nor release from their Andover, Massachusetts HQ do not disclose any parallel Europe/UK activity. Philips, like other electronics companies, undoubtedly feels shrinkage in their traditional lines of consumer business and is looking to ‘dem der hills yonder’ for fresh business. Also Mobihealthnews.
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