ANDOVER, Mass., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VA) is expanding its use of Philips Hospital to Home telehealth solutions across two additional Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). Through the Philips eICU program, VA Healthcare System of Ohio (VISN 10) will now remotely monitor and manage ICU patients in VA Southeast Network (VISN 7), while VA Midwest Health Care Network (VISN 23) will now care for VA Heartland Network (VISN 15). This expansion extends eICU critical connected care services to veterans across more than 2,000 miles, from Georgia to North Dakota.

Since its inception, the Philips eICU program – connecting care with digital solutions and services that span the health continuum – has grown substantially within the VA. The largest integrated health care system in the U.S., the VA consists of more than 1,700 sites and serves nearly nine million veterans each year. While the healthcare industry faces a shortage of intensivists, the VA organization manages more than 1,800 ICU beds nationwide and remains committed to providing veterans with access to quality care.

A longtime leader in telehealth, the VA worked with Philips to establish two enterprise telehealth centers – in Cincinnati (VISN 10) and Minneapolis (VISN 23) – where clinicians provide remote care to veterans not only in their territories, but also in rural and suburban areas that have limited access to ICU facilities. The telehealth team uses advanced analytics and technologies to coordinate care for ICU patients.

"The Philips eICU program at the VA has been key to not only expanding access to care, but also ensuring veterans receive the right level of care in the right facilities," said Brian Rosenfeld, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer of Philips Healthcare Hospital to Home. "This means more veterans can stay in their local VA hospital and avoid the stress of transferring to other critical care centers. Because it reduces overall patient's length of stay, our program also reduces cost and increases the VA's capacity to care for more veterans."

The Philips eICU program is part of a suite of enterprise telehealth programs delivered by Philips Hospital to Home to help improve outcomes, provide better value and expand access to care in both the inpatient and ambulatory settings. These programs use a proactive care model to clinically transform the ICU, medical/surgical units and home healthcare to address growing clinician shortages while improving quality of care. Blending medicine with technology, this care model leverages clinical expertise, patented processes and innovative solutions to improve care delivery. Hospitals utilizing the Philips eICU program were shown to reduce mortality by 26 percent and length of stay by 20 percent in a recent large, multi-center study of 119,000 patients.

For more information on Philips Hospital to Home clinical programs, please visit: http://www.hospitaltohome.philips.com.

For further information, please contact:
Kathy O'Reilly
Philips
(o) 978-659-2638 (mobile) 978-221-8919
Kathy.oreilly@philips.com
Twitter: @kathyoreilly

About Royal Philips:
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2013 sales of EUR 23.3 billion and employs approximately 115,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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SOURCE Royal Philips