Philips and Project Hope Collaborate to Improve Chronic Disease Management in China

Royal Philips Electronics (Philips; Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Project HOPE (Millwood, VA, USA) have announced a partnership that will create a new chronic disease management model linking major hospitals and community healthcare centers in a collaborative approach.

The project will be launched in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Wuhan, and will target three chronic disease areas in China: heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease. Through the combined efforts of tertiary hospitals, community healthcare centers, and home-based rehabilitative services, Philips and Project HOPE aim to develop a 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. 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. 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.

"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.”

Project HOPE, which has had a presence in China for 26 years, has developed and provided health educations programs throughout the country to address HIV/AIDS, pediatric cardiac surgery, diabetes and more. In 2008, Project HOPE helped coordinate the distribution of more than US$1 million of medicines and medical supplies in response to the Sichuan Province earthquake.

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