intel-ge_careinnovations_solution_brief

Using virtual care coordination to foster healthy, independent living

A Solution for Vitalizing Telehealth Aging populations and rising medical costs have created worldwide challenges that call for thoughtful solutions and innovative thinking. Building on advanced, emerging technologies, Intel-GE Care Innovations? designs solutions

to meet those challenges. Our mission is to create forward-looking telehealth solutions, called virtual care coordination (see sidebar

on page 6), that assist in the management

of chronic disease and promote health and wellness. Creative alternatives to traditional care can empower patients to live independently, wherever they are. Through the intelligent use

of applied technology—from data collection

to wireless communication—Care Innovations’ goal is to provide products that personalize

and strengthen healthcare delivery techniques and offer solutions based on a manageable, sustainable model for providers.

The Intel-GE Care Innovations TM Guide represents a landmark step in that direction. The Care Innovations TM Guide is a virtual care coordination solution providing an FDA-cleared software application that can be installed on a wide range of devices running Microsoft Windows* 7 and helps establish a close relationship between patients (particularly those with chronic conditions) and their clinicians and doctors. The road to imagining, designing, and developing the Guide started with extensive research to explore the needs of patients, the challenges faced by healthcare providers, and the roles of caregivers. Through many years of listening to caregivers, talking

with patients, and discussing the problems with healthcare professionals, the solution took shape.Ethnographic Research

Informs and Helps Shape Healthcare Advances

For nearly a decade, Intel’s Digital Health

Group and GE Healthcare Systems have been conducting ethnographic research, launching pilot programs, and exploring the ways in which technology can be effectively used to promote healthy, independent living around the world. The breadth and scope of this research—performed on an enterprise scale across more than 20 countries over several years—provides a rich

bed of knowledge and helped inform the design and development of remote patient monitoring techniques, technologies for assisted living, and independent-living concepts.

This research is reflected in the products and services offered through Care Innovations, including the Guide, the Intel? Reader, and

the GE QuietCare? system.

Information gained from the Intel and GE research provides deep insights into patient treatment needs and healthcare delivery methods. For example, The Global Aging Experience Study surveyed patients, their caregivers, and the healthcare professionals treating them to help determine how future technology can best support independent living. The notion of social scientists driving technologic innovation is at the heart of this approach—people-centered innovation focused on improving healthcare practices through a deeper understanding of people’s lives and the means by which technology can enhance those lives.

1The Guide offers healthcare providers considerable flexibility, with support for multiple form factors and an open platform that can be easily customized. The FDA-cleared software application can be installed on a wide range of devices running Microsoft Windows 7, including notebooks, tablets, netbooks, desktop computers, and all-in-one devices.

Ultimately, the benefit is improved healthcare

for participants and more efficient workflow, accuracy, and feedback on treatments for healthcare providers. Clearly, the current system of healthcare delivery with its reliance

on face-to-face clinic visits is not a practical,

cost-effective approach for the future. Care Innovations presents a new vision for managing chronic diseases remotely, giving patients maximum independence and assisting patients in contending with difficult health conditions.

For an overview of the key events and research milestones in the collaboration between GE and Intel, refer to the timeline on pages 6 and 7. Engaging the Patient

As the platform design of the Guide has evolved, the emphasis has been on ergonomic, intuitive interactivity to help encourage acceptance and use among patients. The guiding principles underlying the design involve the “four Es”:

? E ngage. Make interaction with the device

a pleasant, personalized experience to encourage long-term use and acceptance. ? E ducate. Give patients access to relevant, timely information through videos and instructional material to support lifestyle changes and the prescribed treatment plan. ? E valuate. Provide a way for physicians and clinicians to remotely assess improvements or detect setbacks in a patient’s condition and respond quickly when necessary.

? E mpower. Give patients the means to actively manage their conditions and to

live as independently as possible.

These four elements combine to assist patients in making the necessary lifestyle changes to successfully improve their health and to manage chronic conditions more effectively.The Guide: a Critical Step in

the Evolution of Virtual Care

With advances in consumer computing

devices, digital video techniques, and Internet technologies, it’s now possible to deploy sophisticated, intelligent capabilities—complete with two-way videoconferencing—on a variety

of computing devices. The Guide is an FDA-cleared application that offers healthcare providers an invaluable tool for reaching out

and communicating with their patients on a

whole new level, delivering enhanced healthcare services in an efficient, personalized manner. Designed for use on a range of Microsoft Windows 7 computing devices, the Guide received 510(k) market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2011.

The Guide features videoconferencing, a modern touchscreen interface, and support for capturing biometric data through peak flow meters, weight scales, pulse oximeters, glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, and other input devices.

Developed to assist in the treatment of difficult chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, the Guide compiles and

stores each patient’s history and virtual care coordination interactions in a secure, centralized database using a standardized electronic health record (EHR) format that can be easily integrated with a healthcare facility’s existing system.

Delivering Information

and Guiding Patients

The collection, storage, and distribution of essential patient data lets clinicians and physicians proactively modify a patient’s treatment plan. The Guide provides a number of ways to capture biometric data from the patient and deliver information to inform and instruct the patient and caregivers, including: Videoconferencing

Clinicians and patients can take advantage of videoconferencing to discuss and evaluate the patient’s condition. Patients gain the opportunity to express their thoughts and voice any current concerns. For difficult chronic conditions, monitoring and frequent videoconferencing sessions allow the clinician to observe and communicate with the patient.Health Sessions

Health sessions—designed by the healthcare professional and personalized for the patient’s specific situation—guide the treatment.

During a typical session, the patient might

take measurements of vital signs, respond

to health assessment questions, receive educational information and motivational messages, and complete surveys.

E ducation

Using the Guide, patients have access to a variety of multimedia educational content, including text, audio, and video. Healthcare professionals can add content as part of a health session, and patients can access that content to help them gain a deeper understanding of their disease state, health status, and care protocol.

P ortability and Device Independence Through a design model that targets a wide range of highly portable and mobile computing devices based on Windows 7, the Guide makes it possible for patients to conveniently access healthcare information, perform diagnostic checks, confer with a healthcare professional, and report on their current health status—wherever they happen to be during the day.

This approach and portability greatly extends access to supportive care and monitoring, giving patients more freedom and confidence when traveling or going about their daily business. Because the Guide provides information about specific health conditions on demand, can monitor progress on a daily basis, and facilitates regular contact with healthcare professionals

by means of videoconferencing, it helps ensure that the current mode of treatment is having the desired effect. Patients can view a 30-day history of monitored readings and get precise feedback on how well they are doing, allowing them to be more engaged in their own care. Clinicians have access to accurate, detailed data through the data center to assess long-term trends; evaluate the efficacy of prescribed drugs, lifestyle changes, or other forms of treatment; and communicate these trends to the patient as required. The value of having accurate, accessible patient data available to caregivers is a substantial benefit—helping to improve workflow and to personalize care.

5The Guide makes it easy for a physician to view and evaluate patient data, both to check the most recent biometric values and to survey long-term trends.

January 2003:GE Healthcare helps the Indiana Heart Hospital

establish the ”hospital of the future,” an

all-digital environment.

January 2005:

Intel establishes the Digital Health Group to explore the ways in which Intel ? architecture-based products can assist in healthcare research,diagnostics, and personal healthcare.

January 2010:

A sales and marketing agreement between Intel and GE Healthcare brings the Intel Health Guide to the UK.

January 2008:

GE Healthcare enters into an agreement to distribute and co-market Living Independently’s QuietCare products internationally.

June 2010:

A study conducted by Aetna and Intel reveals the benefits of early intervention and remote healthcare

monitoring for treating patients with congestive heart failure.

March 2009:

Frost & Sullivan grants the Intel Health Guide the 2009 North American Home Health Products of the Year Award.

April 2010:

To explore the physical,cognitive, and social consequences of aging, GE Healthcare invests USD 3 million in the

Technology Research for Independent Living Centre (TRIL) in Ireland.June 2010:Intel and GE

announce plans for a 12-month pilot study through NHS Central Lancashire to find better ways for helping patients with COPD manage their health.

January 2011The newly formed joint venture between Intel and GE Care Innovations begins operations to develop technologies to support healthy, independent living.

Intel-GE Care Innovations Milestones

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