Healthcare IT industry news in brief

Philips launches new home-based telecare product

Philips Healthcare is pushing into community care analytics with a new product designed to reduce the risk of falls.  The company launched its Telecare portfolio at EHI Live 2016 in Birmingham earlier this week, the latest addition to the company’s population health management range.

Philips HomeSafe PERS (Personal Emergency Response System) measures altitude, velocity, impact, and orientation to recognise when a patient has fallen and automatically alert the care team so the patient can receive treatment faster. Philips says the system can detect 95% of ‘true falls’. CareSage is a predictive analytics engine that enables health systems to better monitor and care for elderly patients by combining actionable insights with wearable PERS devices and monitoring.

Andy Calchadora, business development director for the UK and Ireland at Philips Home Monitoring, said Auto-Alert Homesafe was the first of a suite of telecare products the company would be rolling out in the UK. Next year, the company is set to launch the multi-sensor engine with a built in algorithm to predict falls before they happen.

Several companies are already offering sensor-based monitor and alert systems for home care in the UK. A trial in Surrey, is testing everything from sensors to appliance use to improve in-home care for people with dementia.

Fujifilm reveals new PACS

Fujilfilm showed off its latest web-based picture, archiving and communication system at EHI Live 2016 earlier this week. The company says Synapse 5 requires half the bandwidth of current generation PACS, and comes with in-built data analytics functions.

Nuffield Health gets new pathways software

Nuffield Health has deployed Lumeon’s Care Pathway Manager software across 258 locations. The private healthcare provider will use the software to manage its administrative care pathways, including booking, patient communication, management and billing.

CSC teams up with CCube

Trusts that run CSC's Lorenzo electronic patient record will now have access to CCube Solutions document management software. CCubes EDMS can store scanned paper records as unstructured information as well as documents created within the Lorenzo EPR. CSC’s Lorenzo EPR has been deployed, or selected to be deployed, in 21 trusts. CCube’s EDMS is used in 28 hospitals around the country.

Speech to text software use at Waterloo Medical Group

A Northumberland GP federation has deployed speech to text software to improved document turnaround. Waterloo Medical Group claims it saved £15,000 in 12 months by using Nuance Dragon Medical speech recognition software.

Inprova Group partners with TSA

A procurement firm has teamed up with Telecare Services Association to “address current problems” with the telehealth market in the UK. In a joint release, TSA and Inprova Group said telehealth procurement in the UK was “unconnected, uncompetitive and often non-compliant”. The partnership will set-up frameworks, improve the supply chain and “aggregate demand” across CCGs, social care organisation and social housing providers.