Second in a series
MANILA, Philippines?Philips became a global player as a result of its acquisition of ATL Ultrasound in 1998, Adac Laboratories and Agilent Technologies Healthcare Solutions Group both in November 2000 and Marconi Medical Systems in October 2001.
Philips? new Healthcare sector brings together Medical Systems and its growing Home Healthcare Solutions business. The consolidation of said businesses, together with additional acquisitions of complementary, high-growth healthcare companies, resulted in the creation of a Healthcare sector with sales of more than 7 billion euros.
Philips? acquisition in January 2006 of Lifeline, the leader in ?personal emergency response? services aimed at the elderly living independently at home, was an important milestone in building its consumer healthcare and wellness business.
According to Royal Philips Electronics President and CEO Gerard Kleisterlee, the acquisition of Lifeline is an important step on our roadmap for growth in healthcare. ?By targeting seniors and other people who want to continue living independently and exerting more control over their health and lifestyle, we aim to become a global player in the evolving home healthcare market,? he added.
How it works
Lifeline is a medical alert service that?s easy to use. Designed to lessen the risk of living alone, it enables the elderly to get help at the push of a button during a fall or an emergency.
Through the Lifeline Personal Help Buttons, the elderly are connected to caring and professionally trained operators (personal response associates) who monitor their conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These operators (PRAs) have instant access to the pertinent health history and personal profile of the elderly. They can send help fast by summoning emergency services or notifying a neighbor or family member. To ensure that help arrived, they will follow up the situation.
Lifeline options
For the personal help button, the elderly can choose between one worn around the neck or on the wrist.
They can choose a CarePartner communicator who can best meet their needs. This communicator can either be a CarePartner basic unit, which works with one?s existing phone and offers all the benefits of 24-hour personal response with two-way voice communication, or a CarePartner telephone?an elderly-friendly two-in-one unit that?s a phone and a two-way communicator with such features as high volume speaker, handset and ringer control and ability to record medication and appointment reminders.
Lifeline customers
Those who subscribe to Philips Lifeline are mostly female, more than 75 years old and live alone. They learned about Lifeline from their children or healthcare professional.
Subscribers believe Lifeline provides protection and makes them feel safe in their homes. They have mobility problems?one or more chronic conditions.
Caregivers are 45 to 65 years old who typically live within 10 miles from the subscriber. They learned of the service from healthcare professional or by word of mouth. They felt that Lifeline protects the elderly against falls and being lonely.
Those who pay Lifeline are children of the elderly, the government and insurance firms.
Lifeline is people-focused. In fact, framed photos of the elderly can be seen at a lot of walls at the Lifeline offices at 111 Lawrence Street, Framingham, Massachusetts.
Lifeline has helped more than 6 million elderly (seniors) and their families. It is recommended by a lot of hospitals and professional caregivers across North America.
