CARY, N.C. -- In today's competitive healthcare environment, providing quality customer service means preventing or resolving issues as quickly as possible, regardless of circumstance. The necessity to address customer expectations with regard to costs, service delivery and country variables is rising. Siemens Medical Solutions (www.usa.siemens.com/medical) today announced the launch of a new customer support organization in North America, an enhancement to its worldwide service support model designed to increase global customer satisfaction.

At the core of the change are three new Regional Support Centers (RSCs) operating in the U.S., Europe and Asia, which serve as knowledge hubs for Siemens Customer Support Engineers (CSEs). Each RSC will be staffed by highly trained technical engineers and application specialists from around the globe. Siemens will host a ceremony and facility tour on October 3, in Cary, N.C., marking the official opening of the U.S. RSC serving North and South America. Along with Europe, the U.S. site will be the second fully operational RSC, with the opening of the Asia/Pacific RSC site planned for next year.

By expanding its network of support, Siemens provides an indirect benefit to customers by giving CSEs 24/7 access to a larger wealth of knowledge to draw upon, allowing for faster and more efficient resolutions to customer issues. Since each RSC is in a different time zone, CSEs making customer service calls are routed to efficiently resolve customer issues regardless of the location or magnitude of the incident. RSCs will enable a more centralized information network, which includes an infrastructure to support Siemens Remote Service worldwide and a more sophisticated incident tracking system. This developing global network is part of a service model that enables future expansion with maximum efficiency.

"With the new organization, we have created a global service support model that further addresses the demands of healthcare facilities for superior and cost-efficient service," said Randy Hill, senior vice president, Siemens Medical Solutions. "By proactively anticipating the diverse needs of our customers - from cost reduction, to keeping pace with medical imaging innovation, to providing a total patient care solution - Siemens has answered the call for world-class customer service."

By anticipating the diverse needs of customers and enabling them to take advantage of technological advancements, Siemens is making changes that positively impact service now and will enable future service expansion. In the event that a customer issue cannot be resolved remotely, or via an on-site visit, the CSE can utilize the RSC as a greater resource for specialized assistance.

"It is this extra layer of the customer support model that makes Siemens an innovator in providing customers with the service support system they deserve," added Hill.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (SI) with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Employing approximately 33,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 120 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 7.6 billion EUR, orders of 8.6 billion EUR and group profit of 976 million EUR for fiscal 2005. More information can be obtained by visiting www.usa.siemens.com/medical-pressroom.