The device maker is launching a cloud-based, data-driven insights solution in U.K. and Scandinavian countries developed in collaboration with some hospitals and consulting firm Accenture.
Arundhati Parmar
Last year, Boston Scientific launched its Advantics hospital solutions business to help improve outcomes in cardiovascular patients and reduce the cost of caring for them.
On Thursday, the Marlborough, Massachusetts device maker, announced that it is collaborating with consulting firm Accenture to bring the power of the cloud-based, data-driven digital solution to U.K. and Scandinavian hospitals caring for congestive heart failure patients.
Through the collaboration, hospitals can use the Advantics Care Pathway Transformation, to help providers make more proactive and informed decisions powered by insights into their specific heart failure patient population. The goal is to improve the care a patient experiences through the care continuum from hospital stay through post-discharge care and in-home support.
For now, the analytics platform uses data generated within a patient management portal and from the patient’s electronic medical record to glean insights. The hope is that in the future Accenture will be able to bring its full data insights platform to bear on this cloud-based data-driven program by using data collected by Boston Scientific connected devices, or perhaps other digital devices.
According to a Boston Scientific news release, the solutions platform will focus on three key measurements:
- Pathway Analytics: how a patient moves through the hospital system, how long each step takes and whether a patient can be better served by a more efficient system
- Care Management: how patients are diagnosed, treated and monitored, by whom and how often, as well as their ongoing vital signs and risk analysis; and
- Patient Engagement: how patients are educated, monitored and receive communication during their hospitalization and after discharge.
"Boston Scientific and Accenture designed this digital health platform to help providers standardize care, reduce overall length of stay and lower readmission rates,” said Mike Mahoney, president and chief executive officer, Boston Scientific, in a statement. “The Care Pathway Transformation solution is designed to support healthcare professionals and patients to have more informed relationships, leading to better health outcomes and lower costs for health systems. Together, we are addressing an acute need for some of the most costly chronic
conditions.”
While reducing readmissions, and length of stay is a goal, improving patient education and boosting their ability to self manage are objectives, as well.
Launched last year, the Advantics business has worked with about 60 hospitals in the U.S. and completed 15 projects, said Thomas Keppeler, Boston Scientific spokesman, in an email. While the collaboration with Accenture is initially meant for overseas hospitals, in U.K. and Scandinavian countries, Boston Scientific expects to bring it stateside soon, he noted.
The move by Boston Scientific is yet another example of how large pure-play device makers are seeking to broaden their offerings into the services side having realized that helping a hospital improve its efficiency, care delivery and clinical outcomes for chronic patients has significant upside for them as well.
Arundhati Parmar is senior editor at MD+DI. Reach her at [email protected] and on Twitter @aparmarbb
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