Philips Announces Results Of National Study On The Future Of Home Healthcare Technology

Andover, MA - Royal Philips Electronics recently announced the results of a survey conducted by Fazzi Associates of more than 950 home care agencies in the United States through the Philips National Study on the Future of Technology and Telehealth in Home Care. While only 17 percent of home care agencies are currently using a telehealth system, the industry should expect the number of agencies using remote patient monitoring to double over the next two years as one-third reported they are planning to purchase a system.

Co-sponsored by Philips, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), and Fazzi Associates, the results of this first-of-its-kind study reflect the opportunities and challenges for the adoption of home care technology. The study, presented today at the National Association of Home Care's Annual Meeting, reveals growth opportunities emerging for home care agencies delivering services to 4.2 million seniors each year in the United States.

"The study indicates that the home care market is growing in the numbers of people served, while the acceptance and continued need for advanced in-home care technologies are shaping the industry's future," said Dr. Robert Fazzi, founder and managing partner of Fazzi Associates and co-director of the Philips National Study. "After analyzing the results, it is clear the home care field is rapidly moving toward the universal adoption of telehealth systems. Remote monitoring of chronic disease patients can lead to improvements in quality of care and economic savings through reduced trips to the hospital emergency room."

The study also pointed to the convergence of four technologies – fiscal and backroom IS systems, point of service (POS), electronic medical records (EMR) and telehealth – which are increasingly being viewed as critical to clinical and operational management, and which must be compatible and integrated to best serve the industry.

"A study of this magnitude is beneficial to the overall home care industry as it sheds light on the importance of integrating technology and telehealth into clinical practice to ensure both quality patient care and operational efficiency," said Mike Lemnitzer, senior director of Philips Consumer Healthcare Solutions. "We believe that easy-to-use technology, coupled with excellent customer service, can help home care agencies simplify the delivery of services and provide better quality care as the industry evolves and grows over the next few years."

Other key findings include:

• Of the home care agencies surveyed, more than three-quarters (77 percent) have purchased a fiscal, billing and backroom system with nearly 53 percent satisfied and 21 percent planning to replacing their system;
• Nearly two-thirds of all agencies (61 percent) are using Point of Service (POS) hardware to access patient records at the time and place of care, with 71 percent of home care providers using laptops to review and enter patient information while in the home; responses differed greatly, however, on the ease of implementation with new POS systems;
• Over half of home care agencies (58 percent) have integrated Electronic Medical Records into their practice, which arms providers with a patient's background and medical history;
• 80 percent of respondents report that patients and families are reluctant to have telehealth units removed from their home as they provide a sense of security by consistently updating health status and delivering an easy way for patients to manage their own care.

Designed to incorporate the thinking, needs and expectations of leaders in the field, the study included the involvement of a national steering committee of leaders that represented all major segments of home care: large and small, rural and urban, free-standing and hospital-based, for profit and not-for-profit.

Philips has been active in telehealth for over seven years, and has recently focused on the home care market after its acquisitions of Lifeline and HealthWatch, both in the medical alert business. Earlier this year, the company announced a preferred provider contract for telehealth solutions with the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and a GPO agreement with the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH). Philips and Misys Healthcare Systems, a leader in healthcare IT, also recently announced a plan to join forces to provide an integrated software platform for the homecare market.

SOURCE: Royal Philips Electronics