Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, is working with leading medical centers to help respond to COVID-19 by increasing patients’ involvement in their care with the Philips Patient Management Solution.
 
Patient management is a critical element to help educate patients about available care, provide easier, safer, and timely access to that care, and to improve workflow efficiency for healthcare providers to manage patient encounters in a constrained economic and physical environment as the pandemic ensues.
 
With studies showing that automated reminders can lead to a 41.5% reduction in patient no-shows¹ and a 67.0% reduction in poor patient preparation² in challenging diagnostic and interventional procedures, timely education and instructions to patients are essential as hospitals start rescheduling elective procedures.
 
The pause of elective and some chronic care with patient reluctance to visit hospitals and clinics during COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a decrease in critical medical procedures, which can impact patient outcomes and put pressure on health system operations.
 
Philips is committed to supporting healthcare providers with clinically optimized, intelligent diagnostic tools designed to increase productivity, improve workflow, and enhance patient and staff experience. Engaging patients through digital strategies is helping healthcare organizations enhance all their patient encounters including radiology scheduling, enabling remote screenings, guiding patients to resources, and providing real-time instructions in rapidly changing conditions.  
 
“Digital patient management solutions show a high level of maturity for healthcare organizations and enable them to keep patients safe with better personalized care during the pandemic,” said Kees Wesdorp, chief business leader of precision diagnosis at Philips. “As a strategic partner to advance digital transformation, Philips has been certified to effectively educate and guide healthcare organizations as they progress through the Digtal Imaging Adoption Model (DIAM) maturity model stages. We are honored to team with these leading U.S. healthcare organizations in their commitment to recognizing patient engagement as a crucial factor in removing barriers to help improve patient care.”
 
Patient Management Solutions in Action
Virtual contactless check-ins enhance patient and staff safety during COVID-19
Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Yale New Haven Health are using Philips Patient Management Solution to aid in patient communication during COVID-19, before, during, and after their appointments. BMC promotes telehealth consults for patients to stay connected with their care providers. The solution sends timely personalized reminders and helpful information about their upcoming telehealth appointments. 
 
Before in-person appointments at the clinic, both institutions use the Patient Management Solution to screen patients using a digital survey to identify possible COVID-19 symptoms. Once the patient arrives for their appointment, the Patient Management’s Virtual Waiting Room functionality is leveraged to enable a contactless check-in process that eliminates the need for patients to congregate in a traditional waiting room setting. It integrates directly with EHR systems to ensure all aspects of the process smoothly embed into practice workflows where all patient communications are centrally stored.
 
The Patient Management Solution interoperates with the existing IT system to receive enrollment data and return feedback reports as a customer-facing dashboard. Patients scheduled for a radiology scan will receive personalized messaging to help them throughout the procedure. This includes screening for symptoms, protocol preparation instructions, appointment reminders, scan-specific education and expectation setting, last-minute tips, last-mile navigation, and follow-up and feedback survey.
 
COVID-19 Screening
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center has been using Philips Patient Management Solution as one of their tools to identify patients who feel comfortable to receive care again. The platform facilitates screening for COVID-19 symptoms, getting information to patients about newly established safety protocols, and providing reassurance to put them at ease. Scheduling, access and clinical staff are thus able to focus their efforts on the patients who are most ready to return to the hospital for their care.
 
Spotlight at RSNA 2020
The Philips Patient Management Solution is being featured in the Philips virtual RSNA 2020 booth experience as an integral component of the new Radiology Workflow Suite to help improve patient and staff experience while enhancing clinical efficiency and operational excellence. The cloud-based solution previously known as Medumo, which was acquired by Philips in July of 2019, enables modern communication between care providers and patients and serves as a digital liaison to prepare patients for their appointments, help them show up on time, and continue to follow care plan instructions long after their visit or procedure. The solution interoperates with the EMR and can send automated messages through SMS, e-mail, voice, and paper mailings, complementing existing IT and clinical workflows.
 
References:
¹ A Digital Preprocedure Instruction Program for Outpatient Colonoscopy, Richter JM et al. Telemedicine and e-Health VOL. 26, NO. 4 16 Apr 2020 https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2019.0050
² Nayor J, Feng A, Qazi T, Saltzman JR. Tu1044 Improved Patient Preparedness for Colonoscopy Using Automated Time-Release Reminders. Gastrointestinal endoscopy. 2018;87(6):AB507-AB508.3https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30994519/