Philips launches line of clinically validated consumer health devices

Royal Philips is launching a big, consumer-focused push into digital health by introducing a line of medical-grade, connected health monitoring devices and integration with a mobile app and the company’s HealthSuite digital health platform. It’s the first in a planned series of personal health programs aimed at empowering older, at-risk patients to get healthy and prevent chronic diseases.

Starting Monday at www.philips.com/healthprograms — which redirects to the company’s consumer online store — the general public worldwide can buy a new health watch, weight scale, ear thermometer and blood-pressure monitor. Notably, the watchautomatically collects various vital signs, tracks activity and measures sleep patterns with “clinically validated” accuracy, according to the vendor.

All integrate with the new version 2.0 of the Philips HealthSuite mobile app for personal health management, and all have Food and Drug Administration clearance in the U.S.

The products are targeted at the 66 million Americans 50 and older who have at least one chronic disease, as well as their counterparts around the world, said the Dutch company, which cited a 2009 AARP report. They are also aimed at those with high risk of developing a chronic disease.

“We are targeting the at-risk consumer,” said Eline de Graaf, North America director for the Philips Personal Health Solutions division. “There is a market out there for consumers who will buy this directly.”

Yes, direct-to-consumer health is a tough sell, but Philips seems to have a plan to expand its market following the initial launch.

“Starting out, it’s a consumer-focused play,” de Graaf said. But she said that the multinational company is “open to conversations” with parties such as health plans, physician groups and Accountable Care Organizations. The FDA clearance will help Philips when the company approaches physicians, according to de Graaf.

“It’s a little bit of a journey that we’re on,” de Graaf said. “It’s a realization that a lot more care is happening outside the hospital,” she added.

In September, Philips will release details of the next iteration of the program, scheduled to begin in 2017.  “Expect programs focused on specific diseases,” de Graaf hinted.

In general, Philips wants to “measure, monitor and motivate,” de Graaf said. Motivation, of course, is the hardest element. She noted that Philips has a behavior-change psychologist and a clinical scientist on its wearables team.

Devices will collect data and upload to the company’s HealthSuite device cloud. “It’s really how you use that data,” de Graaf said. Philips will apply analytics technology it built for other industries.