Philips Is Betting Big On Digital Health

Earlier this month at the famous Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) health conference, global technology leader Philips highlighted its continued commitment to healthcare innovation.

The company’s vision is straightforward: “As care settings extend beyond the hospital, with increasing ambulatory and home care, the health IT landscape is growing accordingly. Health systems are seeking ways to improve patient and provider experiences and better deliver care throughout the continuum by connecting data from various points-of-care and disparate systems. Cloud-based, integrated platforms are increasingly recognized for their ability to liberate data from siloes and derive meaningful insights that support workflows enabling precise, proactive and integrated care delivery.”

Roy Jakobs, Chief Business Leader of Connected Care at Philips further explains: “Digital transformation and a faster adoption of digital technologies is possible, as we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. How we partner with our customers to serve their evolving needs across operations and patient care is more essential than ever, especially as healthcare organizations face many challenges – from staffing shortages, to security challenges, to gaps in patient care […] We aim to be the caregiver’s trusted partner, by providing a secure backbone, revealing patient insights at the point-of-care and beyond, to help drive confident clinical and operational decision making as part of their ecosystem…”

Notably, Philips has an incredible pipeline of products to help support this overarching mission. Take for example Lumify, a portable ultrasound suite that offers cutting edge diagnostic capabilities with robust mobile capabilities and point-of-care applications. The product even provides tele-ultrasound capabilities, paving way for endless potential with regards to live collaboration and remote care delivery. The company has also developed an entire HealthSuite Interoperability system, providing “departments and stakeholders [a way] to communicate with each other and exchange clinical information.” In conjunction with Philips’ patient management and data infrastructure, the company has created a robust digital health ecosystem.

Photograph of an early ultrasound in use. An ultrasound scan, also referred to as a sonogram, is a … [+] device that uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of the internal organs. Dated 20th Century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

As expected, however, Philips is certainly not alone in this effort. Digital health is the buzzword that is currently dominating the healthcare industry, and other companies are equally ramping up efforts in the field.

Take for example Butterfly, another ultrasound device company that is seamlessly integrating into the digital health ecosystem. Last year, Butterfly went public in a deal worth nearly $1.5 billion dollars, dawning a new era for the company. I also recently wrote about how Oracle corporation, another global technology leader, is aggressively setting its gaze on healthcare as the company’s next frontier. The technology giant is already a key cloud provider for numerous larger healthcare organizations, with a promising pipeline of products ahead.

Finally, other stalwart technology players such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Walmart cannot be forgotten as they attempt to establish their own entry into the healthcare sector with a key focus on providing innovative digital health solutions. The distinct advantage that these companies have is their nearly universal brand recognition, which will undoubtedly make acceptance of new product lines by consumers that much easier.

Indeed, digital health certainly has a long way to go. However, the efforts being made by companies such as Philips and other established players allude to a promising future.