Christoph Pedain, Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips06.25.24
Health systems today face multiple challenges. When it comes to reducing cost of care – or preventing further increase of cost of care while dealing with shifting patient demographics and the increasing prevalence and complexity of disease– the vast volumes of medical data that exist today holds promise. But how can insights derived from this data be applied in clinical practice to help alleviate these issues? Can this information, if deployed back into the clinical decision-making process, support better outcomes at reduced cost, and help to de-stress the clinical environment through better workflow support and automation?
The industry’s ability to implement innovation has been inhibited by both a lack of standardized two-way communication among widely used medical devices and a complex reimbursement landscape that does not appropriately support investment in technology to enable new care models in different economies of care. These hurdles have led healthcare down an unsustainable path and we need to be prepared to adapt to changes in care delivery both within and outside the hospital. In fact, I am convinced that the future of healthcare depends on the availability of connected patient monitoring technology.
These challenges are not just obstacles, but also opportunities for innovation and collaboration within the health tech and medical device industries. Health systems can leverage open platforms that integrate data from in-hospital and remote monitors and medical devices. This strategic move will enable them to optimize their technology investments and provide dependable care across diverse settings. Patient data, when harnessed effectively, can yield profound insights. And when it is bolstered by interoperability, we can ensure that patients receive efficient, cost-effective care, from the hospital to their homes.
As we look at the current landscape, health technology providers are reaffirming their commitment to solutions that equip clinical teams with the insights needed to coordinate patient care across acuities and settings. These technologies are laying the foundation for how healthcare will be conducted in the future in the following ways:
To instill clinical teams with the confidence needed to make care-related decisions on a full and correct basis of relevant information, and to efficiently control devices for diagnosis and treatment, the Service-Oriented Device Connectivity (SDC) family of standards enables interoperability across medical devices and platforms. Patient data generated by these solutions will be securely exchanged between devices and platforms in near real-time. SDC-ready medical devices can significantly change a clinician’s experience by allowing them to see and act upon data derived from integrated acute care technologies (e.g., patient monitors, sensors, and infusion pumps) regardless of the manufacturer. The SDC standards also support communication between medical brands and replace proprietary networks with a common language between devices.
The impact of SDC is also expected to have a tremendous effect on Intensive Care Units. Due to the level of patient monitoring that occurs in ICUs, frequent alarm noises notify care teams of status changes but can also disrupt patients’ sleep and prolong recovery time. Additionally, alarm fatigue may impact a clinician’s ability to decipher between routine patient alerts and notifications for when urgent care is needed. However, in an SDC-enabled care environment, clinicians can remotely manage and silence the alarms in a patient’s room, quieting the space so the patient can focus on rest and recovery. At the same time, SDC enables care teams to access health information and alerts at their fingertips so they can stay up to date on the patient’s condition and intervene immediately if needed.
Although it is still an emerging technology, SDC will soon become standard across hospitals and health systems. In the meantime, medical device manufacturers must come together as partners to expedite this imminent change. For SDC to have the most significant impact, a collaborative approach is vital to ensure that acute care technology and systems can connect seamlessly. We have a responsibility to the healthcare industry, and clinical teams in particular, to provide them with the highest-quality technology that empowers them to deliver better patient care.
Health technology providers are just scratching the surface of this new model. The growing prevalence of predictive AI and cloud-based data management in healthcare offers potential and incentive to accelerate innovation and improve how patients are diagnosed and treated across various clinical settings. To get there, we must create solutions that better connect, share, and analyze patient data throughout the care journey. By doing so, clinicians will gain a holistic view of health status that provides for specific context; whether the patient is being monitored in the operating room, the ICU, or at home.
To enable this, technology providers must be willing to open and share access to their applications to contribute to a unified experience for clinicians and patients alike; an open ecosystem of information on which the processes of care provision can be organized. This allows third-party devices and wearables to effortlessly communicate key patient data and health insights across the platform. The data generated by remote monitors can help care teams track changes to a patient’s condition or how a patient is adhering to treatment and can alert clinicians if a patient experiences a health issue or needs a medical intervention.
With this approach, alleviating ongoing shortages of healthcare staff and resources through the creation of early discharge and hospital-at-home initiatives is within reach; with a goal to ease the burden on care providers while reducing hospital readmissions.
References:
1Manor-Shulman O, Beyene J, Frndova H, Parshuram CS. Quantifying the volume of documented clinical information in critical illness. J Crit Care. 2008 Jun;23(2):245–50
Christoph Pedain is a Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips. Pedain is the Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips. In this role, oversees the creation of technology that equips care teams with relevant and timely clinical data to enhance patient care. Pedain also served at Siemens Healthineers as the Head of Point of Care Diagnostics for Siemens Healthineers, at Brainlab as COO, and ay Roche Diagnostics as General Manger.
The industry’s ability to implement innovation has been inhibited by both a lack of standardized two-way communication among widely used medical devices and a complex reimbursement landscape that does not appropriately support investment in technology to enable new care models in different economies of care. These hurdles have led healthcare down an unsustainable path and we need to be prepared to adapt to changes in care delivery both within and outside the hospital. In fact, I am convinced that the future of healthcare depends on the availability of connected patient monitoring technology.
These challenges are not just obstacles, but also opportunities for innovation and collaboration within the health tech and medical device industries. Health systems can leverage open platforms that integrate data from in-hospital and remote monitors and medical devices. This strategic move will enable them to optimize their technology investments and provide dependable care across diverse settings. Patient data, when harnessed effectively, can yield profound insights. And when it is bolstered by interoperability, we can ensure that patients receive efficient, cost-effective care, from the hospital to their homes.
As we look at the current landscape, health technology providers are reaffirming their commitment to solutions that equip clinical teams with the insights needed to coordinate patient care across acuities and settings. These technologies are laying the foundation for how healthcare will be conducted in the future in the following ways:
- Creating an interoperable, healing acute care environment;
- Embracing new healthcare delivery models;
- Optimizing care transitions from hospital to home.
Service-Oriented Device Connectivity: Driving the Next Generation of Acute Care
Clinicians rely on medical equipment from multiple manufacturers to monitor and treat their patients, with each device producing a large volume of data. In the average intensive care situation, an estimated 1,200 data points are produced per patient and day1, which can contribute to data overload for clinical teams. Currently, care teams must review multiple sources and interpret siloed data to guide their treatment decisions. Not only does this disjointed view of data slow clinical workflows, but the lack of interoperability between medical devices may also lead to an unawareness of the relevant data at the point of clinical decision making.To instill clinical teams with the confidence needed to make care-related decisions on a full and correct basis of relevant information, and to efficiently control devices for diagnosis and treatment, the Service-Oriented Device Connectivity (SDC) family of standards enables interoperability across medical devices and platforms. Patient data generated by these solutions will be securely exchanged between devices and platforms in near real-time. SDC-ready medical devices can significantly change a clinician’s experience by allowing them to see and act upon data derived from integrated acute care technologies (e.g., patient monitors, sensors, and infusion pumps) regardless of the manufacturer. The SDC standards also support communication between medical brands and replace proprietary networks with a common language between devices.
The impact of SDC is also expected to have a tremendous effect on Intensive Care Units. Due to the level of patient monitoring that occurs in ICUs, frequent alarm noises notify care teams of status changes but can also disrupt patients’ sleep and prolong recovery time. Additionally, alarm fatigue may impact a clinician’s ability to decipher between routine patient alerts and notifications for when urgent care is needed. However, in an SDC-enabled care environment, clinicians can remotely manage and silence the alarms in a patient’s room, quieting the space so the patient can focus on rest and recovery. At the same time, SDC enables care teams to access health information and alerts at their fingertips so they can stay up to date on the patient’s condition and intervene immediately if needed.
Although it is still an emerging technology, SDC will soon become standard across hospitals and health systems. In the meantime, medical device manufacturers must come together as partners to expedite this imminent change. For SDC to have the most significant impact, a collaborative approach is vital to ensure that acute care technology and systems can connect seamlessly. We have a responsibility to the healthcare industry, and clinical teams in particular, to provide them with the highest-quality technology that empowers them to deliver better patient care.
A New Standard of Care Delivery: Expanding Healthcare Beyond the Hospital
Traditionally, healthcare has followed a hub-and-spoke model, where hospitals serve as the hub of care delivery, with alternative care methods functioning as the spokes. However, healthcare is evolving toward a future where the patient is at the center of care. Through this delivery model, care is administered in the setting that will be most effective for the patient, which helps to optimize hospital resources and care providers’ time. This requires connected technology that gives clinicians clear visibility into a patient’s health at the point of clinical decision.Health technology providers are just scratching the surface of this new model. The growing prevalence of predictive AI and cloud-based data management in healthcare offers potential and incentive to accelerate innovation and improve how patients are diagnosed and treated across various clinical settings. To get there, we must create solutions that better connect, share, and analyze patient data throughout the care journey. By doing so, clinicians will gain a holistic view of health status that provides for specific context; whether the patient is being monitored in the operating room, the ICU, or at home.
Smoothing Care Transitions: Hospital-to-Home and Anywhere in Between
By providing access to patient monitoring data across various care settings, clinicians can coordinate smoother patient care transitions and enable efficient and effective collaboration between care teams. A complete view of patient health before, during, and after hospitalization also allows care providers to easily determine which patients need to return to the hospital for treatment and which can continue to recover safely at home. Ultimately, connected patient data and insights across health system technology and clinical settings helps to ensure reliable, consistent care at a lower cost and better health outcomes overall.To enable this, technology providers must be willing to open and share access to their applications to contribute to a unified experience for clinicians and patients alike; an open ecosystem of information on which the processes of care provision can be organized. This allows third-party devices and wearables to effortlessly communicate key patient data and health insights across the platform. The data generated by remote monitors can help care teams track changes to a patient’s condition or how a patient is adhering to treatment and can alert clinicians if a patient experiences a health issue or needs a medical intervention.
With this approach, alleviating ongoing shortages of healthcare staff and resources through the creation of early discharge and hospital-at-home initiatives is within reach; with a goal to ease the burden on care providers while reducing hospital readmissions.
Collaborating for the Future of Healthcare
As we look toward the future, health technology providers must ensure our solutions work together for a connected and enhanced patient care experience. During this time of significant change across the industry, medical device innovation has an incredible opportunity to lay the foundation for tomorrow's healthcare. Through connected monitoring technology and interoperable data insights, we can create a future that benefits everyone through better clinical workflows for care teams, higher-quality patient care, and improved health outcomes.References:
1Manor-Shulman O, Beyene J, Frndova H, Parshuram CS. Quantifying the volume of documented clinical information in critical illness. J Crit Care. 2008 Jun;23(2):245–50
Christoph Pedain is a Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips. Pedain is the Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips. In this role, oversees the creation of technology that equips care teams with relevant and timely clinical data to enhance patient care. Pedain also served at Siemens Healthineers as the Head of Point of Care Diagnostics for Siemens Healthineers, at Brainlab as COO, and ay Roche Diagnostics as General Manger.