Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) announced today that it launched its Virtual Care Station telehealth system for delivering virtual care services.
Virtual Care Station delivers care in convenient neighborhood locations, including retail settings, libraries, town halls and universities, according to a news release.
The pod-based system is designed to connect provider and insurance networks to allow healthcare providers and patients to have a local, community-based choice for care, offering access to virtual, face-to-face options. It features a camera, lighting and speakers and accommodates patients in wheelchairs or those with service dogs. Philips said in the release that it can be expanded in the future for uses like tele-dentistry, as well as in new technologies that limit touchpoints like contactless monitoring.
Amsterdam-based Philips developed the Virtual Care Station as part of its ATLAS (Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations) program for servicing the healthcare needs of U.S. veterans. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed telehealth to the fore, making the launch of the Virtual Care Station timely as patients require access to healthcare options.
“By expanding our telehealth solution, we hope to give providers an option to engage in population health and support patients closer to home in lower cost settings that can lead to the potential for more follow-up visits, and the opportunity for clinicians to identify at-risk patients earlier and manage health escalations,” Philips North America chief market leader Vitor Rocha said in the release. “Not only does it mean the convenience of shorter drive times for patients, it could mean better health outcomes and a safer environment for providers as people benefit from getting the quality care they need in the right place at the right time.”