How seamless care is changing the world

Take a look around and you will see a world that is becoming more connected and seamless every day. From your phone, to your television, and even your refrigerator – connected technology is touching the lives of billions of people across the globe. But how is it transforming our health? At the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) show in Las Vegas, Philips introduced thousands of visitors to our connected health technology and integrated solutions for cardiovascular care, informatics and population health – spotlighting capabilities from new acquisitions including Forcare and VitalHealth. It is all about helping health systems in their drive towards seamless care from the hospital room to the living room and beyond.

Customers and industry thought leaders discussed the latest healthcare trends in the Philips Live! Forum. David Kirkpatrick, Founder and CEO at Techonomy, interviewed Philips Chief Medical Officer Jan Kimpen on how connected health is changing the world. Dr. Kimpen made our vision clear: It is about breaking down the boundaries of care by connecting the dots between data, technology, and people. We cannot do this unless we listen to our customers needs, and their needs are evident – they want to shift from reactive care to proactive care. Northwell Health brought to life their vision of a virtual hospital where patients are remotely monitored with the Philips wearable biosensor and Intellivue Guardian with Early Warning Scoring (EWS) so clinicians can intervene earlier as patient health starts to deteriorate. How amazing is that?

But technology alone is not enough. As health systems expand, so does the need for more advanced solutions such as analytics, and adaptive intelligence to help solve their increasingly complex problems. Entering into long-term strategic partnerships with these leading health systems, we can better diagnose the pain points across the enterprise so we can offer tailored solutions to deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time. 

David Higginson, CIO at Phoenix Children’s Hospital stopped by to share how Philips and Phoenix Children’s are collaborating to leverage technology and data analytics to solve problems and impact patient care. 

During his talk, David drove home the need to team up with partners like Philips to deliver better care and outcomes to the children in their community. Back in Brazil where I grew up, I witnessed first-hand the challenges of not having access to the care you need and when you need it. Fortunately, when my wife gave birth to our premature twins, we were living in the US and we had excellent access to care. However, the US is not immune, as 15% of the US population lives in rural areas, with millions of people faced with physician shortages and hospital closures. Your zip code should not determine your quality of care. All too often, it still does. 

Connected health technology is changing the world for the better. It is giving people access to better care, when and where they need it. At HIMSS, our mission to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2025 was in full view, and that mission has never been stronger.

Learn more about how we’re breaking down barriers here.