Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) today announced the release of CarePartners Mobile, a new mobile app designed to help family caregivers coordinate the support they provide their loved ones.
There are 43.5 million family caregivers in the United States who provide support to an adult family member1, often an aging parent, and more than half report feeling overwhelmed by the amount of care their loved one requires2. The typical caregiver provides approximately 19 hours of support each week1. Additionally, three quarters of caregivers work outside the home, and 40 percent work full-time3. Seventy percent share responsibilities with other family members1, which appears to significantly lower stress. However, organizing care among a group of caregivers requires precise coordination.
"CarePartners Mobile allows people to spend more time caregiving, and less time trying to determine what needs to be done and who is doing it," said Mark Sabalauskas, senior product manager, Philips Lifeline. "The app also taps in to the growing trend of using mobile technology to communicate, organize our lives and improve our health. As this trend continues to grow, Philips is leading the way, providing services where and how they are most effectively delivered."
The free app, which is available for iPhone and Android, streamlines care coordination, enabling caregivers to:
Communicate in a private, secure online community;
Create, manage and view upcoming caregiving tasks using a shared to-do list;
Assign tasks to individuals, see what tasks still need volunteers; and
Sync tasks they are responsible for directly into their smartphone calendars.
"Coordinating care for a loved one can be a challenge, especially when multiple family members in various time zones, friends, neighbors, volunteer programs and paid services are involved," Sabalauskas states. "CarePartners Mobile has helps organize an individual's caregiving community, to make life less stressful and ensure your loved ones get the care they need."
CarePartners Mobile is available on iTunes and Google Play. For more information, please visit https://www.lifeline.philips.com/.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2011 sales of EUR 22.6 billion and employs approximately 122,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming, home and portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
1 National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in the U.S., Nov 2009
2 American Psychological Association, Stress in America™: Our Health at Risk. Jan 2012
3 Ibid
