Royal Philips has designed a new FDA-cleared and CE mark approved mobile app, called IntelliVue GuardianSoftware, that gives clinicians updates on a patient’s condition and deterioration. The latest app is now available worldwide. The latest platform will integrate other Philips technologies, notably the Early Warning Scoring, which helps predict when patient deterioration might occur and then intervenes. It can also integrate with Philips wearables. 

The program was designed so that doctors and other clinicians could see patient vital signs and get early warnings about patient deterioration through their phone. The company bills this as an alternative to writing down patient information on a central white board.

Why it matters

The company said this technology is a way to prevent patients from deteriorating in medical condition— and enabling clinicians to be proactive rather than reactive. 

"Patient deterioration continues to be a major concern in hospitals — one that can be further exacerbated when the right solutions aren't in place,” Felix Baader, business leader for monitoring and analytics at Philips, said in a statement. "Clinicians need data in real-time to help them identify adverse events before they occur. Philips IntelliVue GuardianSoftware is always evolving to offer clinicians an intuitive tool to optimize efficiencies and clinical resources. With the introduction of the IGS mobile client app, clinicians can deploy resources more efficiently and have a deeper view into their patients' status."

What's the trend 

Philips has been in the healthcare space for a long time now and it appears to be growing. The latest app is part of the company’s General Care Solutions, which is made up of a patient monitor, wearable biosensors and clinical decision support algorithms. 

Philips Healthcare made headlines in August when it inked a deal with the US Air Force for its remote monitoring sensor called the Battlefield Airmen Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK). 

Additionally, at HIMSS18 Philips launched a slew of new connected care products including a management system called FocusPoint, which helps give hospitals more visibility into the performance of their patient monitoring technology. The company also unveiled the next generation of its HealthSuite collection of digital health tools, which include analytics and artificial intelligence.