Siemens Healthineers, Cleveland Clinic form 10-year alliance

Dive Brief:

• Siemens Healthineers has struck a 10-year deal to support diagnostic imaging, cardiology and radiation oncology at Cleveland Clinic, the company said Thursday.
• Building on its 35-year relationship with the academic medical center, Siemens Healthineers will provide diagnostic imaging and therapeutic technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, radiation oncology, interventional radiology and X-ray.
• Siemens Healthineers is expanding an existing team dedicated to Cleveland Clinic, adding on-site technicians and training personnel to its current group of more than 30 people.

Dive Insight:

Cleveland Clinic has a long history of using Siemens Healthineers’ products across its operations. Previous deals include a cardiology image management pact in 2008 and a series of purchases of linear accelerators. 

The latest deal positions Cleveland Clinic to continue installing Siemens Healthineers’ devices at multiple locations and departments.

“This strategic alliance with Siemens Healthineers will help us bring more consistent, connected and advanced imaging and treatment services to our patients,” Peter Liu, chair of enterprise imaging at Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement. “By aligning technology, service and clinical support more closely across our global health system, we can improve access, increase efficiency and create a better experience for patients.”

The partners’ pursuit of those goals goes beyond new technology. Siemens Healthineers’ expanded team dedicated to Cleveland Clinic will help the medical center develop a theranostics program that combines targeted imaging and therapy to personalize cancer care.

Cleveland Clinic will also collaborate with Siemens Healthineers to become a center of excellence for MRI technologist education. The project covers clinical education, protocol optimization, technologist skill development and radiation safety education. Physicians expanding CT imaging into cardiology, radiation therapy and image-guided procedures will receive support.

The deal comes nearly six months after Siemens Healthineers partnered with Mayo Clinic to improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disease and cancer. Areas of focus in the Mayo Clinic deal include using image-guided technologies to detect and treat metastases.

Siemens Healthineers’ rivals have struck similarly broad deals, with GE HealthCare unveiling a 10-year pact with Catholic Health last week.