· Collaboration with Asklepios hospital group and with practicing physicians.

· Solutions for the care of chronically ill patients.

· Potential cost savings for the healthcare system.

Düsseldorf – For the first time, the Bosch Group has its own stand at Medica, the world's largest trade fair for medical technology. At this stand, Robert Bosch Healthcare GmbH, the subsidiary set up last April, is presenting telehealth system solutions for hospitals, medical centers, physicians, and insurance companies. These systems allow the physical condition of patients suffering from chronic cardiac or pulmonary conditions to be monitored regularly without these patients having to leave their familiar surroundings. “Intensive care of this kind means that the number of cost-intensive stays in hospital can be reduced. This not only achieves savings, but also a significant improvement in patients' quality of life,” said Dr. Sascha Henke, Vice President Marketing and Sales at Robert Bosch Healthcare GmbH.

In attending this trade fair, Bosch is drawing attention to the market launch of its telehealth solutions in Europe. These solutions have already had considerable success in the United States. A project with the Asklepios group of hospitals is currently getting underway. Together with practicing physicians in southern Bavaria, the medical center in Munich's Gauting district is monitoring patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using an easy-to-operate terminal, patients can daily measure vital parameters such as blood-oxygen level or pulse from their own homes. They also have to complete a daily survey, asking them about their subjective well-being, symptoms, medication, and daily routine. New questions are asked every day. In addition, patients are also given daily training and motivation: how to deal with their condition, and how to live healthily. The patients' responses and vital parameters are evaluated by specialists at the medical center.If they notice any abnormalities, the medical support staff at Askelpios contact the patient directly, or refer the case to the consulting specialist.

Long experience of secure data handling
Bosch telehealth systems are based on products of two telehealth pioneers – the former U.S. companies Health Hero Network and ViTel Net. Following its acquisition of these two companies, Bosch is now developing this technology further. “Here, we can build on Bosch's wealth of experience in areas such as the rapid and secure transmission and processing of measured data,” said Dr. Ulrich Behner, Vice President Technical at Bosch Healthcare. In addition, there is the experience gained from the “Partnership for the Heart” project. Since 2006, together with the Charité hospital in Berlin and the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, Bosch has headed up the engineering consortium in this project, which is conducting a scientific study of the remote monitoring of cardiac patients. In the U.S., some 30,000 patients are already being monitored by Bosch systems. Apart from COPD, the conditions monitored include chronic heart failure, diabetes, and depression.

The monitoring programs can be used not only for individual conditions, but can also be combined flexibly to monitor patients presenting several different symptoms. The long-term success of this Bosch solution has been confirmed by numerous studies, conducted for example by the US Department of Veterans Affairs or the University of Colorado. In the case of COPD, these studies show that the number of stays in hospital falls by 20 percent if the Bosch telehealth system is used. For certain symptoms or for especially cost-intensive hospital admissions, this number falls by more than 50 percent. For further details about this study, go to www.bosch-telemedizin.de

One of the leading providers in the U.S.
In the U.S., the Bosch system is used in collaboration with organizations such as Veterans Affairs, or as part of Medicare Demonstration Pilot Study programs, for example. This makes the company one of the leading providers in what is still a new growth market. And its customer base is growing all the time. A few weeks ago, for example, an agreement was reached with the service provider Connections365. Under this agreement, telehealth kiosks will be set up in elderly care centers, residential communities for the over 65s, and private homes. And together with the provider Care Management Organization, a subsidiary of the Montefiore Medical Center in New York, one of the most extensive metropolitan projects in the U.S. is currently being rolled out. The project aims to remotely monitor more than 7,000 patients in the Bronx district of New York City.