Mar 02, 2020

Philips and Paracelsus Clinics enter into 8-year strategic partnership

Philips’ technology innovation, digitalization and AI-based analytics drive continuous process of sustainable transformation for Paracelsus Clinics

Amsterdam, the Netherlands & Osnabrück, Germany – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Paracelsus Clinics, today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership for the next eight years. The partnership is focused on continuous modernization of Paracelsus Clinics’ medical imaging systems. Based on the evolving needs of the hospital, the partnership will offer solutions that maximize imaging system availability and standardize equipment operation, leveraging digitalization and process optimization to realize efficiency improvements while at the same time increasing quality.

With Philips, we now have a partner by our side who will support us in expanding this position and strengthen our future viability through its strengths in innovation and its digital competence.

Dr. med. Dr. jur. Martin Siebert

CEO of Paracelsus Clinics

“Paracelsus is committed to providing integrated care close to where people live in Germany,” said Dr. med. Dr. jur. Martin Siebert, CEO of Paracelsus Clinics. “With Philips, we now have a partner by our side who will support us in expanding this position and strengthen our future viability through its strengths in innovation and its digital competence. As an exclusive supplier, Philips will take care of new and replacement imaging system procurement, together with management and the training of our employees. The scope of delivery includes CT, MRI, angiography, X-ray and ultrasound systems. Philips offers the greatest possible flexibility in designing a tailor-made equipment pool that matches our changing requirements over time.”

“In addressing the challenges of the future, offering the latest technological innovations is only the first step,” said Peter Vullinghs, Senior Vice President, General Manager Philips GmbH Market DACH. "In our strategic partnership with Paracelsus we want to firmly anchor quality and efficiency as key success factors, not only at the structural level but also at the process level. It’s the only way we can achieve more together.”

“We were won over by the innovative concept for digitalization that Philips offered,” said Florian Distler, Head of the Procurement Management Office of Paracelsus Clinics. "This digital transformation will help us to better interlink outpatient, inpatient and rehabilitation at home.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) in leading-edge research

One of the intended lighthouse projects planned by Paracelsus and Philips will include installation of Philips’ Informatics AI Research Suite (IntelliSpace Discovery) in the Paracelsus Elena Clinic in Kassel – one of Germany’s leading clinics for the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders. Paracelsus intends to use the AI capabilities of Philips’ Informatics AI Research Suite (IntelliSpace Discovery) to further advance the internationally recognized cutting-edge research carried out by the clinic so that new findings on neurodegenerative diseases find their way into clinical care. Scientists can use the AI research platform to develop their own machine learning algorithms for specific questions. In addition, Philips will equip the clinic with innovative MR technology to support diagnosis and treatment in acute neurology care.

Standardization – key to cost efficiency

A team of consultants from Philips' Healthcare Transformation Services department, together with representatives from Paracelsus, have already initiated an optimization project for ultrasound imaging. Starting with a precise analysis of the current inventory, diagnostic capabilities, and the competitive environment at the Paracelsus Henstedt-Ulzburg, Reichenbach and Zwickau clinics, the team will develop recommendations for needs-based solutions with uniform operator interfaces. Where it involves ultrasound, the aim is to improve the level of ultrasound probe compatibility.

Improvement through proactive maintenance and performance measurement and analysis

Hospitals must be able to rely on medical technology always being ready for use. To ensure maximum availability, Philips will not only take responsibility for servicing its own technology at Paracelsus, but also that of third parties. Through a remote service that employs predictive analytics, potential issues can be identified and solved before downtime occurs.

Paracelsus also intends to leverage Philips’ Operational Informatics (PerformanceBridge) to gain deep insights into the performance and utilization of its imaging solutions. The solution’s enterprise-wide workflow tools enables modality-specific analyzes as well as in-house and cross-company comparisons, allowing potential improvements to be identified and operational performance increased.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2019 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 80,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.