Philips CarePartners Mobile App Helps Ease The Burden Of Caregiver Coordination

ANDOVER, Mass., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 member ¹, often an aging parent, and more than half report feeling overwhelmed by the amount of care their loved one requires ². The typical caregiver provides approximately 19 hours of support each week ¹. Additionally, three quarters of caregivers work outside the home, and 40 percent work full-time ³. Seventy percent share responsibilities with other family members ¹, 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."

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