In afternoon trade the Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price has been recovering after falling to a 52-week low earlier today.
This recovery appears to have been triggered by a promising announcement by the private hospital operator this afternoon.
At the time of writing Ramsay's shares are down just over 3% to $59.19, up from its 6.5% decline to its low of $57.26.
What did Ramsay announce?
This afternoon Ramsay announced the launch of a new standard in hospital-in-the-home services – Ramsay Connect.
Ramsay Connect is a joint venture between Ramsay Health Plus and Australian Unity's Remedy Healthcare business. It will use both parent companies' combined expertise to provide coordinated care during and after a patient's hospitalisation, with a focus on providing people with greater choice and convenience as to where they access their care.
Ramsay Health Care Australia's CEO, Danny Sims, believes Ramsay Connect will set a new benchmark in care for patients by facilitating seamless care delivery models from hospital to home and providing patients with a truly integrated healthcare experience.
Mr Sims explained: "Leveraging 70 years of combined experience in delivering the highest quality healthcare, Ramsay Connect will provide community and home-based care including rehabilitation in the home post joint replacement. Ramsay Connect will also look to deliver a range of other services including out-of-hospital palliative care, chronic disease and mental health management programs."
"Our service will be accessible and flexible, working in conjunction with the patient's clinical teams both in and out of hospital ensuring we deliver care that is evidence-based, in the most cost-effective environment," he added.
Lower cost healthcare.
Australian Unity's Group Managing Director, Rohan Mead, believes this service will be able to deliver lower cost healthcare services without compromising quality.
He also notes that Australia's ageing population is driving a shift from the provision of acute and episodic treatment to the ongoing management of chronic disease. Something which the healthcare sector needs to adapt to quickly.
Mr Mead said: "We need healthcare that can be flexibly integrated into people's lives, particularly where they are living independently and need and want access to suitable and effective clinical care in a setting of their choice. In our view, patient-centred, integrated care is the way forward and not managed care."
"Remedy Healthcare is delighted to partner with Ramsay Health Plus, bringing the best of both companies together to support better patient outcomes," he concluded.
