Frost & Sullivan Awards Prestigious 2010 Europe Product Quality Leadership Award in Remote Patient Monitoring to Robert Bosch Healthcare

- Bosch telehealth systems outperformed competitors in all five quality measures -

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Dec 01, 2010, 02:00 ET

LONDON, Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan announced today it has presented the 2010 Europe Product Quality Leadership Award in the Remote Patient Monitoring Market to Robert Bosch Healthcare. The Product Quality Leadership Award is given to the company that has excelled in product performance, reliability, design, usability and perceived value. Bosch Healthcare's telehealth systems, which include the Health Buddy® patient interface and Bosch Telehealth Plus System, are designed to optimize providers' operations and approach to care, while improving the way patients with chronic illness manage their disease.

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"Bosch has created a global brand that is widely recognized for producing products with high performance standards, and their remote patient monitoring systems are no exception," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Somsainathan C.K. "This legacy of quality, reliability and usability has allowed Bosch Healthcare to surpass the competition in the emerging market of telehealth."

The most successful remote patient monitoring tools feature user-friendly interfaces that encourage productive interactions between patients and care managers. The Health Buddy System has a unique branching logic that gives users a series of personalized questions about their health and provides recommendations if potential red flags are observed. This design contributes to patient engagement and gives users peace of mind that their care providers are closely watching their health.

"High-end technology is seldom designed with user-friendliness in mind. Bosch is committed to developing innovative products that offer comprehensive technology and are user-friendly," remarks Roland Hueppmeier, Senior Manager of Robert Bosch Healthcare. "The company strongly believes in building solutions that are not merely fancy gadgets, but are robust in terms of functionality and usability."

The remote patient monitoring market in Europe is in its infancy in terms of awareness and market penetration, but has recently shown significant signs of growth. Bosch is a leader in remote patient monitoring in key markets such as the U.S., and has recently acquired two companies prominent in the telehealth space to further build out its offerings. This has given them valuable learnings that they can now bring to the European market.

"With its rich wealth of experience in remote patient monitoring from around the world, and its local expertise and network from its home markets in Europe, Bosch is able to provide reliable systems that are tailored and designed to meet the specific needs of its users," says Somsainathan. "Telehealth systems, in particular, which cater to difficult-to-treat patients with serious illnesses in homecare settings, need to be highly dependable, durable and innovative to encourage user engagement.

Another reason Bosch scored so high on product performance measures was its value-added service and training offerings. Specific examples are Bosch's expertise and on-hand services in the areas of program definition and set-up, patient identification and selection and the appropriate communication, which help ease adoption by carers and patients.

"While its competitors sell only products, Bosch has created a system of care that can lead to tangible change in providers' operations and approach to care, and patients' management of their disease. This is the true promise of telehealth," concludes Somsainathan.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Robert Bosch Healthcare

Robert Bosch Healthcare Inc. is a leading provider of innovative telehealth systems. Bosch's product spectrum ranges from patient terminals to comprehensive evaluation software allowing healthcare professionals to efficiently evaluate the data coming from the patient terminals and other connected devices. Bosch Telehealth strives to improve diagnosis and treatment through systematic patient monitoring and involvement. The result is that health professionals are able to provide a higher quality of care for patients with chronic conditions, patients lead happier and healthier lives, and the cost of healthcare is reduced for funders. Robert Bosch Healthcare, Inc. is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Bosch Group. For more information, go to www.bosch-telehealth.co.uk or www.bosch-telemedizin.de.

About Frost & Sullivan

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan