Getting intensive with eICU

AMSTERDAM—Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, and US-based Emory Healthcare have announced today the launch of a new remote Intensive Care Unit (eICU) monitoring program, based at the Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia, focused on improving the outcomes of high risk patients and advancing the globalization of critical care.

“This partnership is enabling a crucial shift in the delivery of care, impacting clinical outcomes, where technology supports clinicians to deliver more proactive and timely care to patients across the globe,” said Caroline Clarke, CEO ASEAN Pacific, Philips. “Access to highly experienced intensivists and critical care nurses is an ongoing challenge for hospitals internationally, and virtual care solutions, like the eICU program, can help deliver much needed expertise to areas where this is lacking. At Philips, we are proud to play our part in creating connected health solutions that break down barriers within healthcare, to impact both providers and patients.”

Based on the successes of a pilot program Emory Healthcare ran out of Sydney in 2016, this partnership is a next phase for Emory Healthcare. Their critical care physician (intensivists) and critical care nurse experts will provide medical care to patients in the US from their base at Royal Perth Hospital using Philips’ remote intensive care unit monitoring technology. This virtual care model enables the Perth-based US clinicians to provide remote night-time critical care support to patients in Atlanta, Georgia during daytime hours in Perth. This model could help to reduce the burden of traditional night shift work.

“The eICU represents the future of globalized critical care, transforming the delivery of care from the bedside in partnership with the Informatics Center to any site where the advanced technology can be implemented, extending beyond the barriers of location and time,” said Tim Buchman, Director of the Critical Care Center, Emory Healthcare. “Overnight, when adverse events are most likely to occur for ICU patients, the eICU program allows clinicians to support the Atlanta-based bedside team by recognizing adverse physiology, making critical diagnosis, and intervening as a patient begins to veer off trajectory. We are turning night into day to make the lives of our caregivers as positive as possible while improving care quality and patient outcomes.”

The eICU program allows for near real-time remote patient monitoring and early intervention via advanced audio-visual technology. Smart algorithms can predict deteriorations in health, giving clinicians the ability to communicate with local caregivers via live video link, to continuously monitor patient health, and advise on the best course of treatment from wherever they are located.

“The partnership of eRNs and eMDs in the Emory eICU is a primary component of the success of the program,” added Cheryl Hiddleson, Director Emory eICU Center. “This is why Emory decided to send one physician and one nurse to Perth, so that collaborative effort is maintained. The goal of the program and its clinicians to ensure quality patient care is also preserved by continuing this model.”

The Philips eICU program has delivered proven success for Emory Healthcare since its implementation four years ago. The program demonstrated that remote ICU monitoring can help to save lives, increase provider satisfaction and drive cost savings through length of stay reduction and inpatient readmission decrease*. The solution is part of a connected, patient-centered care and analytics suite that supports advanced care delivery models both in the hospital and to the home. To learn more, you can read a recently published white paper calculating the value of remote ICU monitoring (tele-ICU).

“As part of our commitment to continually improve patient and carers’ experiences within the health care system, we are excited to welcome Dr. Buchman and his Emory Healthcare critical care team located on site,” said Liz MacLeod, Chief Executive, East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS). “We both share the same goals and objectives to provide the best patient care possible. Hosting this program at RPH allows us to see first hand how remote ICU monitoring could possibly change the face of acute medicine in the future, by bringing together geographically dispersed teams in different parts of the world.”