On January 1, 2007, Siemens Medical Solutions took over Gesellschaft fur Systemforschung und Dienstleistungen im Gesundheitswesen mbH (GSD), headquartered in Berlin. With more than 300 customers in 14 countries, GSD is a market leader in the area of health information systems (HIS). By taking over GSD, Siemens will strengthen its leading position in the healthcare information technology sector, especially in Germany and other European countries. The acquisition is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

The acquisition complements Siemens Medical Solutions' global growth strategy in the competitive healthcare information technology (IT) market, significantly growing its current installed base of health information systems in Germany and strengthening Siemens' position as a leading provider of HIS. As a market leader, GSD will enhance Siemens' global healthcare IT portfolio with its i.s.h.med and Ambulatory Care Management (ACM) product lines, while infusing additional industry expertise into its product and service offerings for the European market. The combined product portfolio is unique in its regional and functional market coverage. A company with more than 300 customers in 14 countries, GSD generated revenue of 25.6 million EUR and employed 168 people in fiscal year 2005 (ended December 31). GSD will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens Medical Solutions as part of the Health Services division.

"To improve quality and efficiency in healthcare, we are putting our faith in optimized IT solutions such as our unique workflow management system, Soarian," said Erich R. Reinhardt, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, and President and CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions. "GSD's enormous expertise in the development and implementation of health information systems presented us with a convincing case. Accordingly, the future will see us achieve even greater joint success in this area - with innovative products, outstanding service and tailored solutions for our customers."
Siemens Medical Solutions and GSD share a long-standing partnership and related synergies, which will be leveraged to ensure Siemens' and GSD's combined customers are optimally supported today and well-positioned for the future through strong commitment to innovation and R&D. For example, GSD's expertise in developing and deploying i.s.h.med, its SAP-based clinical HIS, will serve to further strengthen Siemens' global healthcare alliance with SAP.
In addition, GSD best practices and expert resources will play a key role in the further development of Siemens' Soarian health information solution for the European market, while current GSD customers gain the opportunity to benefit from Siemens' deep domain experience in clinical workflow improvement and process redesign. With the United States currently the largest market for Soarian, Siemens is gaining global momentum for the solution, customizing it for deployment in key international markets. More than 41 Soarian-based workflows are currently live in the US, UK, and Germany. Soarian's core differentiator is its unique-to-healthcare workflow engine that facilitates and tracks technology-driven workflows designed to help users increase quality and efficiency, improve patient safety, and achieve desired clinical and financial outcomes.

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