Royal Philips recently announced that some of its clinical, population health management and personal health and wellness solutions will be integrated with American Well’s mobile telehealth services. HCB News had the chance to speak with Egbert van Acht, the CEO of Philips’ personal health businesses, about this new partnership and the role of personal health in the future of medicine.

HCB News: As we push for value-based care, how does that change the role of consumer/personal health?

Egbert van Acht: Value-based health care is mostly focused on patient outcomes, and what is best for the patients is also in the interests of the health system. Their costs are exploding and we’re seeing an aging population and more people living with chronic diseases. So keeping patients healthy is helping everybody.

We believe that the way to make the next step in transforming health care is by taking a proactive and patient-centric mindset and offering solutions that help them manage their health in better ways to improve short-term and long-term outcomes.

We’re moving from one-off solutions and products to connected health solutions that help patients over their lifetime. The connectivity of our platform gives insight that helps the patient change their behavior and more easily connect with and follow the recommendation of their doctor.

We believe these intelligent platforms are the future. It’s a combination of devices, sensors, software, smart algorithms as well as the role of artificial intelligence in that.

HCB News: What are some of the areas where consumer/personal health hold the most untapped potential to keep people out of the hospital?

EVA: If a patient suffers from any chronic condition like heart disease or diabetes, they can benefit from smart solutions with predictive analytics in the background that pick of signs of health deterioration. We try to get ahead of the game by also incorporating patients’ genetic makeup and lifestyle habits, to create a full patient picture and enable individualized, personal coaching.

We launched SmartSleep, which is the first clinically proven sleep solution to improve the quality of deep sleep. We know from research that from age 25 to late 40s, about 40 percent are not sleeping the recommended seven hours per night, which effects concentration, memory and focus.

The introduction of SmartSleep is helping people have a better quality deep sleep. It leads to a better rest and more energy even with less sleep than recommended.

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