Philips and Project HOPE announce collaboration to improve chronic disease management in China

* Partnership will link leading Chinese hospitals with community healthcare centers in four cities, to enhance care that patients receive in their home communities
* Partnership will focus on three chronic disease areas: cardiac, cerebrovascular and respiratory

Shanghai, China – At an Inauguration Ceremony at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital today, Philips China and Project HOPE announced a unique partnership that will create a new chronic disease management model linking major hospitals and community healthcare centers in a collaborative approach. The objective of this three-year program is to contribute to the improvement of chronic disease management and thereby, improve patient care outcomes and reduce the burden on the overall healthcare system of China.

Philips will provide program funding and technical support to the partnership. Project HOPE will bring to the team more than 50 years of experience in international public health and the development training of health care training programs.

Launched in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan, the program is the first of its kind that targets three chronic disease areas in China: heart disease, stroke and respiratory disease. Through the combined efforts of leading tertiary hospitals, community healthcare centers and home-based rehabilitative services in those four cities, Philips and Project HOPE aim to develop an innovative and sustainable model and infrastructure for chronic disease management, as well as build up the capacity of community healthcare centers to provide long-term integrated management for chronic disease patients with the support of secondary and tertiary hospitals.

Through the program, training will be provided for secondary and community healthcare providers and advanced medical facilities will be set up at the community healthcare centers. Patient education and the interventions designed within the system will also help chronic disease patients develop self-care skills and better adhere to treatment, thereby empowering them to achieve a better quality of lifestyle.

“As a company dedicated to improving the quality of people’s lives in the area of Health and Well-being, Philips sees chronic disease as a significant public health challenge in China. We are delighted in joining hands with Project HOPE to improve the accessibility and affordability of healthcare services in China.” said Patrick Kung, Executive Vice President and CEO of Philips Greater China. “Philips is committed to developing solutions that deliver value throughout the total care cycle, and this program would be our exploration in the areas of monitoring and follow up to help enhance the recovery of chronic disease patients.”

“Bringing together the expertise, talents and resources from the corporate and health care sectors in China to address a specific health challenge, in this case chronic diseases, is what Project HOPE does best,” said John P. Howe III, M.D., President and CEO of Project HOPE. “HOPE has a long and successful history of creating powerful partnerships to improve the health of the Chinese people.”

According to the ’Report on Chronic Disease in China’ published by Ministry of Health in 2006, chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are major causes for death among the Chinese population. As per the Sino-MONICA-Beijing study, 1.5 million patients die of stroke per year in China, and the re-occurrence rate is much higher than in western countries. This shows the urgency and importance of secondary intervention. Chronic disease is also a major contributor to disability: health care services related to chronic diseases account for a significant portion of all health care expenditures in China.

However, the efficiency of healthcare system is yet to be enhanced and public education for risk factor reduction for most of the chronic patients in China needs to be facilitated. On average, chronic disease patients visit doctors 3 times per year; 55.3% of them choose municipal level hospitals which are relatively crowded, inconvenient and expensive, while only 25.1% choose community healthcare centers. This situation makes the development and full utilization of the secondary and community health centers to be the priority agenda of healthcare reform in order to enhance the continuity of quality care.

“By participating in the program, we hope to transfer our clinical expertise to the community healthcare centers and enhance the communications between the big hospitals, secondary hospitals, and the community healthcare centers. Under the new integrated model, chronic disease patients at selected program sites will receive better patient education for self-care and risk factor reduction, in addition to obtaining easy access to more efficient and affordable care at the community healthcare centers.” Said Professor Deng Weiwu, Chief Physician, Honorable Director, Institute of Ruijin Infectious and Respiratory Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Project HOPE, which has had a presence in China for 26 years, has developed and provided health education programs throughout the country to address HIV/AIDS, pediatric cardiac surgery, diabetes and more. Last year Project HOPE helped coordinate the distribution of more than $1 million of medicines and medical supplies in response to the Sichuan Province earthquake and celebrated the 10th anniversary of its partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center.

About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 116,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 26 billion in 2008, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Project HOPE
Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world’s first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, as well as conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries. For more information, please visit www.projecthope.org