Siemens has teamed up with MUSC
to enhance quality and reduce
costs of care in South Carolina
Siemens collabs with MUSC to enhance care in South Carolina
August 28, 2018
by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter
Siemens Healthineers is teaming up with the Medical University of South Carolina to advance the quality of care offered to patients in the palmetto state.
The first-of-its-kind, strategic collaboration combines the expertise and research of MUSC’s clinical staff with the engineering innovations and workflow-improving capabilities offered by Siemens to enhance quality and lower costs of care at MUSC, forming a model for other providers to follow.
“The relationship is truly transformative in nature and will encompass a broad range of Siemens Healthineers offerings, including technology, but will also include services, artificial intelligence applications, and co-investment projects,” a Siemens spokesperson told HCB News.
The focus of the partnership is to generate clinical and value-driven innovations in a range of areas including pediatrics, cardiovascular care, radiology and neurosciences, an example being a plan to reduce the time required to treat stroke patients.
The current national standard for treating a case of stroke is less than 90 minutes on average. Siemens and MUSC seek to establish lower standards while increasing the number and variety of positive outcomes for patients following stroke.
Orchestration of the plan includes expansions in precision medicine, transformations of care delivery, improvements in patient experience, and digitalization of healthcare. To achieve these objectives, both are employing a number of strategic actions, including the enhanced application of "digital twin technology", a type of artificial intelligence designed as a digital replica of a physical asset, process or symptom.
Use of the twin enables clinicians to quickly determine the impact of expensive, if not impossible, changes to test in the real world, allowing them to forecast the maximum efficiency of possible workflow solutions and other technologies and services in their facilities.
“MUSC is well positioned to lean into the future and will provide the clinical insight and know-how, as well as the research and education expertise, to complement our engineering strengths,” the spokesperson said. “MUSC understands that the health care delivery system is fractured, and that it can be wasteful and duplicative. What's most important is that they, like us, are ready to lean into the problems and the challenges and find a new, better way forward.”