The evolution of long-term strategic partnerships for the Healthcare industry

The foundation of our partnership strategy includes:

• A focus on design thinking and a collaborative approach to new challenges, with co-innovation and co-creation of solutions.
• An ongoing commitment to continuous performance improvement and shared risk.
• Attention to the patient experience and improving care delivery for the community.

Originally the base for most partnerships was long-term equipment planning, procurement, and management but nowadays there are many additional facets which are addressed. These include strategic guidance and design for a single hospital or healthcare network, improving access to care across the care network, IT strategy, and shared accountability for outcomes and financial risk.

Philips recently announced a long-term strategic partnership with Westchester Medical Center Health Network, providing equipment, medical and information technology optimization services, clinical education, and operational consulting services. But what is important about this relationship is its collaborative nature - we have a shared vision of redefining how quality patient care will be delivered, within and beyond the hospital walls.

Philips has other such partnerships in the US, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Each is unique yet many of these organizations are reducing technology spend while improving clinical quality and access to care as well as improving the patient experience.

This partnership evolution is leading to extraordinary levels of collaboration and trust, as well as innovation and transformation, which is resulting in improved patient care at a lower cost which is the ultimate goal both healthcare organizations and industry partners should be pushing toward.