05/25/2016 -- Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Tampere, Finland – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Heart Hospital in Tampere, Finland, to jointly innovate in cardiac care and further reinforce Heart Hospital as a European center of excellence for heart treatment. The multi-year agreement has a value of approximately EUR 19 million, and is the first strategic partnership awarded to Philips in Finland and the third in the Nordic region.

In order to meet the growing demand for cardiac care in the region and beyond, Heart Hospital is renewing its operations, building new facilities, and renovating sections of its existing facilities. The strategic partnership with Philips includes a managed services agreement through which Philips will install, integrate and manage cardiac angiography imaging, cardiac ultrasound imaging, clinical informatics, and patient monitoring solutions, as well as providing maintenance, training and consulting services under a unified payment structure. The contract was awarded following a public European tendering process and covers a multi-year term that runs until 2030. Philips will regularly update the installed systems, making it easy for the hospital to adopt new technologies, procedures and processes as they become available.

Heart Hospital specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, with sites in Pirkanmaa and southern Finland, and is owned by Tampere University Hospital. Heart Hospital operates in conjunction with Tampere University Hospital and treats patients in the region who require cardiac care, including (minimally invasive) surgery. The quality of treatment it provides also attracts public and private patients from all over Finland and abroad. The hospital strategically focuses on employee well-being, flexible access to care, the patient experience and partnerships in order to attract the best clinical professionals and offer the best treatment for patients. An essential element of that strategy is equipping the hospital with the most up-to-date and performant equipment, systems, processes and working environments. In particular, the hospital aims to offer its patients a fully integrated, seamless and personalized care pathway that requires the type of informatics-based connected care solutions offered by Philips.
“By partnering with Philips, we will be able to engage in a close and deep collaboration related to the most crucial areas of the Heart Hospital,” said Kari Niemelä, Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director at Heart Hospital. “By concentrating on a single equipment and service supplier, this strategic partnership will allow us to get the best possible benefits from the related medical technologies and meet our operational and strategic objectives.”

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