Siemens Healthineers and Dräger will supply German municipal hospital group ANregiomed with new diagnostic and biomedical equipment to boost its care quality and attract new personnel to work at its three locations.

Siemens will replace its diagnostic imaging and image-guided intervention equipment with new, up-to-date solutions, and will service and update the equipment over the course of ten years. It marks the first time the company has embarked on a project of this scale with a municipal company, having only done so with major networked providers and full-service hospitals.

Dräger will supply some 6,500 biomedical devices for anesthesia, ventilation and monitoring needs, along with infusion pumps and endoscopic instruments.
"A model that has already functioned very well worldwide with major networked healthcare service providers and full-service hospitals, we now want to successfully further develop jointly with ANregiomed based on the needs of this regional healthcare provider,” said Dr. Bernd Ohnesorge, president for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Siemens Healthineers, in a statement.

The more modern equipment will shorten exam times and reduce radiation exposure to an absolute minimum. Standardizing systems across the entire hospital group will also allow personnel to be deployed at different locations without time-consuming technical training.

ANregiomed expects to significantly reduce overall costs with the technology. While the exact total was not disclosed, the price for the entire order volume is in the mid double-digit million-dollar range, according to Siemens.

The two will also implement an innovation and optimization project each year, including for telemedicine and the development of a digital user interface to optimize processes and improve patient interaction. Additionally, Siemens will train hospital staff, and advise on strategies for recruiting personnel.

"In light of the fact that, for us as well — like many other hospitals — it will become steadily more difficult in future to recruit and keep specialized medical staff, we're working directly to counter this shortage of qualified personnel," said ANregiomed CEO Dr. Gerhard M. Sontheimer.

Many of ANregiomed’s systems will be replaced within the first 18 months, driving up compensation and workflow quickly.

Dräger also plans to integrate all equipment operators early. "Even if this is our field of expertise, good collaboration with the equipment operators on equal terms plays an essential role,” said Bernhard Schenk, managing director of Dräger TGM GmbH.

ANregiomed has the option of extending its contract for another five years.

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