Philips has released the findings of its large scale study. Given the importance of telehealth to the future of home care and hospice agencies, much of the study focused on “the various types of telehealth systems being used, the components of these systems, what agency leaders liked and disliked about their systems and most importantly, what leaders felt were the most significant impact of these systems on various aspects of quality and financial outcomes.” Top findings were:

• 17.1 percent of agencies use some type of telehealth system. A much higher percentage of large agencies (32.0%) report that they provide telehealth services.
• 88.6 percent report that telehealth led to an increase in quality outcomes
• 76.6 percent report a reduction in unplanned hospitalizations
• 77.2 percent report a reduction in emergency room visits
• 71.3 percent report that telehealth services improved patient satisfaction. No agency reported that it reduced patient satisfaction

Read more of the results in this press release, in which you will find a link to the Philips site to request a copy of the report. [If the form is working for you, that is. It wasn’t for me, although the Philips web team told me they had tested it and it was OK for them. Pity, as it is such an important report.]

[Further note, 20 April: Apparently the request form is working for people who use Internet Explorer, but not for me or the 15% of Telecare Aware readers who use Firefox as their principal internet browser. Thumbs down to Philips’s web team for not checking it in the first place and a second thumbs down for not picking it up when I first alerted them to the possibility.]