HMI Group, a Southeast Asian private healthcare provider, has established a five-year partnership with German medical technology firm Siemens Healthineers.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The partnership will see HMI Group investing over SG$32 million (about $24 million) to launch new medical technologies and digitalisation platforms. It will also look at building Centres of Excellence (CoE) to improve treatment and patient care options for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cancer, neuroscience and cardiovascular diseases.
WHY IT MATTERS
The partners intend to advance healthcare delivery in the region. “As the care of our patients is at the center of everything that we do, our partnership will accelerate the adoption of connected health, thereby providing faster access to care, while building telehealth and predictive analytics capabilities at scale, all of which will go a long way in enhancing our patients’ journey towards a healthier outcome,” said HMI Group CEO Chin Wei Jia in a statement.
HMI Group looks to deepen its use of digital health, big data and precision diagnosis with the development of CoEs. It will be recruiting local specialists in the fields of clinical, allied health and hospital management who will be trained in the latest technologies and digital platforms. Siemens Healthineers will provide support through enhanced training programmes and consultations.
The World Health Organization says about 62% of deaths in Southeast Asia are due to NCDs. To address this, new technologies are needed for early detection and tailored treatment, while enhancing clinical knowledge.
THE LARGER TREND
The trend of partnerships between healthcare providers and health IT firms continues across Asia-Pacific. In January, Holmusk, a data science and health tech company, teamed up with Singapore’s National Healthcare Group and the Institute of Mental Health to develop new mental health solutions. The same tech company secured an exclusive deal with global insurer AIA in August last year.
Japanese health tech provider Infocom and Homage, a Singapore-based telehealth startup, have formalised a strategic partnership to address long-term care needs within the region.
Aside from HMI Group, Siemens Healthineers also made similar partnerships under its value partnership model with Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada and Dallah Health Company in Saudi Arabia. Its partnership model enables healthcare providers to optimise business processes, expand capabilities, and advance innovation.
ON THE RECORD
“HMI Group is committed to not just improve the lives of our patients by providing access to better solutions, but the community as a whole by supporting local talents and through continual investment in medical technologies, ultimately raising the bar for care delivery of the future,” Chin stated.
“At Siemens Healthineers, we understand the challenges that healthcare providers face in meeting the demand of providing quality healthcare. We are delighted to have signed this strategic partnership with HMI Group, which is first such for us in Southeast Asia,” said Fabrice Leguet, managing director and head of Siemens Healthineers Southeast Asia.
