Siemens Healthcare has recently signed a ten-year partnership agreement with German hospital operator Evangelisches Krankenhaus Bielefeld (EvKB), which is investing in a completely new radiology suite with the latest equipment in order to provide optimal care for patients. The provisioning model agreed between the two partners provides for Siemens to assist its customer with project planning and the optimization of treatment flows, to supply the necessary medical systems and to teach hospital employees how to use the new equipment. Siemens is also taking on responsibility for the maintenance of all of the EvKB's medical equipment. Thanks to a flexible financing model designed by Siemens' Financial Services division (SFS), the hospital operator can look forward to having the latest technology at its disposal at all times for the whole of the next ten years.
Evangelisches Krankenhaus Bielefeld is one of the largest hospitals in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. When EvKB decided to expand the hospital and its radiology department, it set out to find a strategic partner capable not only of supplying innovative medical systems, but also of helping it to remain competitive over the long term. It ended up opting for the Siemens provisioning model, for which it has signed a ten-year partnership agreement.
The provisioning model encompasses management of the maintenance of more than 8000 items of medical equipment from some 300 different manufacturers as well as consulting services in relation to the optimization of clinical workflows and continuous training in equipment and software. Also included is an innovation concept that will enable the EvKB to keep its equipment pool completely up to date with the latest technical developments over the coming ten years through a combination of updates, upgrades and exchanges for next-generation systems. Designed around monthly usage rates for the equipment, the financing concept can be adapted flexibly to the customer's requirements during the ten-year period and gives the hospital a reliable basis for the next decade's planning activities.
The agreement additionally covers the supply and implementation of more than 80 medical systems ranging from large devices like a CT scanner and a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance tomography unit to 30 ultrasound systems and the Syngo.via imaging software.
"The innovation concept was a key element of the contract for us along with the equipment purchases. Technology marches on and we, as a leader in a number of fields, want to make sure that we still have the latest facilities in the relevant fields in ten years' time. We decided to go for a full-service contract to ensure that the equipment is always properly maintained and ready to use. We need to optimize our workflow, which is why we also opted for consulting services. And we need employees who know how to use all our advanced new devices. In short, it made sense for us to take up the entire package. Few companies can provide all of this and we were keen to have everything from a single source," recounts EvKB Managing Director Dr. Heiner Meyer zu Lösebeck.
"Innovation cycles have grown shorter in healthcare just as in other areas. Our provisioning model is intended to help customers keep up with the latest technology so that they can always offer their patients innovative medical care," explains Wolfgang Bayer, Head of Siemens Germany, Healthcare Sector.
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About Evangelisches Krankenhaus Bielefeld
The Evangelisches Krankenhaus Bielefeld (EvKB) full-service medical facility and Bethel's linked Mara Hospital together have around 1,500 beds, 30 specialist departments and 4,200 employees, making them one of the largest hospital operations in North Rhine-Westphalia and the leading employer in the regional center of Bielefeld. The healthcare provider is owned by the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel and Evangelisches Johanneswerk e.V., the largest Christian social welfare service organizations in Europe. EvKB and the Mara Hospital treat around 53,000 inpatients and over 73,000 outpatients every year.
About Siemens Healthcare
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest healthcare solution providers and a leading manufacturer and service provider in the fields of medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, hospital information technology and hearing instruments. It offers solutions covering the entire supply chain under one roof - from prevention and early detection to diagnosis and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows oriented toward the most important clinical pictures, Siemens also strives to make healthcare faster, better and, at the same time, less expensive. Siemens Healthcare currently has some 48,000 employees worldwide and is present throughout the world. During fiscal 2010 (up to September 30) the Sector posted sales worth 12.4 billion euros and profits of around 750 million euros.