Dutch health technology giant Philips and the University of Vermont (UVM) Health Network announced the expansion of a partnership with a 10-year agreement to improve patient care.

WHY IT MATTERS

The partnership with Philips is designed to help the six hospitals in Vermont and New York UVM health network break down data silos, giving staff access to information that can help them improve their level of patient care.

The health network will receive a range of clinical and business solutions and consulting services from Philips, including digital imaging systems, ultrasound, patient monitoring, and clinical informatics.

The partnership includes Philips technologies and services such as PerformanceBridge, a suite of cloud based services, which can provide information related to key performance indicators (KPIs) like utilization rate, exam volume, and average change over time for selected imaging equipment (CT, MR, IXR).

ON THE RECORD

“Our continued partnership with Philips will help us better understand and care for our patients, wherever they come to us,” John Brumsted, president and CEO of the UVM Health Network, said in a statement. “Leveraging technology helps our clinical staff provide the best care at the bedside throughout the network.”

In addition, UVM work with Philips to streamline workflows and optimize medical technology deployment, including the UVM Medical Center’s Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building, a recently built care facility.

The building’s patients currently have access to a Rego Patient Device, a bedside tablet currently being piloted that enables them to call their nurses and control their TVs and overhead lights.

The device also offers access to MyChart Bedside, a tablet-based application that gives patients and their families more information about their hospital stay.

In addition, the app lets patients keep track of their daily schedule, learn more about members of the care team, monitor recent vitals and labs and review educational materials.

Meanwhile, UVM Health Network’s Epic system, which is expected to take six-years to implement, will replace a variety of legacy technology, and some paper-based documentation.

“Ultimately, we want to redefine the patient and staff experience, helping them to deliver the quality, cost-effective care their communities deserve,” Vitor Rocha, CEO of Philips North America, said in a statement.

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW

Philips, in partnership with Microsoft, recently developed an augmented reality concept for image-guided minimally invasive surgeries — based on Philips’ Azurion image-guided therapy platform and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 holographic computing platform, the augmented reality applications include those for image-guided minimally invasive therapies.

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.

Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com

Twitter: @dropdeaded209