Philips and smartQare team up in automation of patient monitoring in and outside the hospital

By Team IO

Philips is entering into a strategic partnership to integrate smartQare’s technology with its clinical software platforms for patient monitoring. This collaboration provides new opportunities for continuous patient monitoring, both inside and outside hospital walls, the company says.

The role of hospitals is changing rapidly. Staff shortages, an aging population, and rising healthcare costs have led to increasing demand for healthcare. Meanwhile, healthcare facilities are being asked to achieve more with fewer resources. Wearable sensors for continuous monitoring offer a solution to help reduce staff workloads and shorten patients’ hospital stays.

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Data sharing

However, implementing monitoring with wearable sensors can be challenging, mainly when devices cannot exchange data with each other and sharing patient data between different care environments is not possible. The new collaboration between Philips and smartQare should make exchanging data between sensors and systems easier. This helps reduce the complexity of continuous monitoring by making data and decision support accessible through easy-to-use software platforms, regardless of whether the patient is still in the hospital, in a long-term care facility, or recovering at home.

“We recognize the need for system change driven by companies in the health technology sector. By opening up our monitoring platform to other companies like smartQare, we can create an ecosystem for patient monitoring. This will help healthcare providers reclaim time so they can focus on what is important and confidently care for patients,” said Christoph Pedain, Business Leader, Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips. “Hospitals and healthcare facilities can use the open ecosystem to balance the need to standardize and personalize care across different healthcare environments. This will help improve workflows, care delivery and patient safety.”

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Healthdot

As part of the partnership agreement, smartQare will adopt Philips’ Healthdot. This will combine this wearable sensor with smartQare’s patient monitoring solution, viQtor. Both sensors will be integrated into one digital solution and platform. Philips and smartQare will jointly offer integrated remote patient monitoring solutions to healthcare providers and patients.

With this shift to an open approach, Philips aims to reduce the number of exclusive standards and closed ecosystems for hospitals. Gradually, more third-party devices and sensors that can communicate through Philips’ various platforms should be introduced.