Philips announced an agreement with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) to implement Philips’ eICU program technology. The program, which will go live in July 2019, aims to help reduce mortality, length of stay, and ventilation days while providing patients with the care they need, wherever they are located. Following the success of similar programs in the Americas, the UK, Australia, and the Middle East, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health is the latest health system to incorporate the Philips eICU telehealth model to enable clinicians to deliver improved critical care support to patients across multiple sites.
Lack of Beds, Overcrowding, Changing Reimbursement Models
Hospitals and health systems across the globe are facing increased pressures – from lack of beds and overcrowding, to changing reimbursement models and an ongoing intensivist shortage. Only 47 percent of ICUs in U.S. hospitals currently employ full-time intensivists[1], a number that is expected to continue to drop. In widely dispersed communities, leveraging telehealth technology can help rural hospitals increase access to quality care by providing the bedside team with expert guidance and 24/7 monitoring of critically ill patients.
Tele-ICU Program Overview
Hospitals and health systems across the globe are facing increased pressures – from lack of beds and overcrowding, to changing reimbursement models and an ongoing intensivist shortage. By combining A/V technology, predictive analytics, data visualization, advanced reporting, and the expertise Philips professionals, Philips’ eICU program is helping rural hospitals increase access to quality care by providing the bedside team with expert guidance and 24/7 monitoring of critically ill patients.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s program will start with medical, surgical, and neurology intensive care units at DHMC, along with the intensive care unit at Cheshire Medical Center, a D-HH system hospital. The program’s tele-ICU hub will also be located at DHMC, where it will leverage Philips IntelliSpace eCareManager, the program’s source-agnostic software, providing clinicians with a single integrated view of patient data. Philips’ eICU program combines predictive analytics, data visualization, and advanced reporting capabilities to deliver vital information to bedside caregivers. By receiving this remote support, the bedside team is empowered to make better informed, more efficient, and more effective value-based care decisions.
“As New Hampshire’s only tertiary care medical facility, demand for our services is high,” noted Dartmouth-Hitchcock Chief Clinical Officer Edward J. Merrens, MD. “The use of telemedicine across the D-HH system and around the region aligns with our mission of providing the best care in the appropriate setting, whether it be at DHMC or at the patient’s local hospital with the support of Dartmouth-Hitchcock specialists.”
