Beyond clinical — How Philips aims to improve patient and provider experience with better diagnostic imaging

The diagnostic imaging team at Philips not only looks to provide clinicians with the best scanners and technology solutions possible, but also aims to help them drive down the cost of care while increasing quality and improving patient outcomes.

Kees Wesdorp, PhD, has been the business group leader for diagnostic imaging at Philips since January 2017. He previously served as the executive vice president with the EU portfolio team at Bain Capital and has also held leadership positions at NXP Semiconductors and McKinsey & Company. Dr. Wesdorp earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Amsterdam and his PhD in atomic physics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Dr. Wesdorp took the time to speak with Becker's about the changing role of diagnostic imaging and the ways it can be utilized to help achieve system-wide goals.

Editor's Note: Reponses have been edited lightly for length and clarity

Question: How can we improve imaging outcomes and shorten the path to a confident diagnosis?

KW: At a high level, it's really about connecting people, data and technology. We come from a world where, a decade ago, we would just sell scanners; those days are over. It's not just about equipment anymore; there’s a real need for services and solutions that help hospitals, health centers or imaging systems get access to - and make sense of - the profound amount of data. There's a wealth of information that sits fragmented in the health system, and the danger is that it's all in silos without being leveraged by all the stakeholders in the system to facilitate diagnostic confidence and better imaging outcomes.

Q: How can radiology administrators use data-driven solutions to meet their departmental challenges?

KW: We believe administrators play a fundamental role in driving efficiency and effectiveness throughout the system. Our solutions address the needs of radiology administrators and enable them to understand asset utilization so they can actually apply logic to the process to make sure staff use that scanner in the best possible way.

For instance, we've just released a protocol manager for magnetic resonance scanners to make sure the variability in protocols is reduced in a way that is relevant for that specific site, but that's just a starting point. Ultimately, you need to help the team understand their needs based on the local demographics of an imaging center. We don't just provide a tool or a dashboard, but also partner up with our customers to help them understand how they can drive productivity to the network.

For MR we just released Compressed SENSE, which enables clinicians to perform exams up to 50% faster[1]. Now that is a breakthrough, but it's only a breakthrough if the whole flow of patients is also optimized to benefit from that reduction in scan times. So, again, it's not just providing them with products, but really collaborating with them so that they can realize the most benefit.

Q: What role does imaging have for the C-suite as it relates to the financial and operational aspects of healthcare?

KW: Imaging plays a crucial role in the majority of healthcare decisions that help improve clinical, financial and operational outcomes across the entire healthcare network.

I've noticed that over and over again speaking to C-suite executives across the world, they all want to achieve better patient care but have less resources. A key challenge is the cost of the system and what often stands in the way is reimbursement.

We work with our customers to drive optimal reimbursements and control costs, whether it's capital expenditures or operating expenses, by coming up with new business models. That's a big part of delivering value to our customers.

Q: What are some of the topics that come up frequently in customer conversations?

KW: With the shift from volume- to value-based care, many healthcare organizations are struggling to be held to certain metrics for reimbursement. New technologies might produce better patient outcomes, but they may not be recognized by the reimbursement scheme. This is important to address so that hospitals can reduce waste or inefficiencies, remain competitive and serve their patient populations more effectively and profitably.

Patient safety and quality are also key topics because of the way they impact not only patient satisfaction but operations and reimbursements too. A focus on patient safety drives quality; and a focus on quality ensures safety is consistently applied. At Philips, we strive to ensure that our solutions work as effectively and efficiently as possible so that the patient experience is better, the staff experience is better and the overall outcomes are better.

Q: What's the guiding principle for Philips' imaging business for the future?

KW: Patients are at the center of our innovation. However, we look at how we can empower all the people behind the image and understand their unique concerns and challenges. Our view of imaging is based on the idea that a deeper understanding of each person's experience can pro­vide important insights that help patients, clinicians and administrators fulfill their respective roles with less stress and more confidence.  

Traditionally, an MR scanner will be sold on field strength and the performance of the gradients. For an administrator, that's meaningless. That may offer deeper clinical insights, but what you don't know is if it optimizes the equation of access, quality and cost. So, for instance, we know our MR scanner not only by its clinical performance, but also by how difficult is it to install, how big it is, what its energy consumption is and how it will affect workflow in terms of patients per hour. We need to see the whole picture.

In that way, our position has evolved from a technology-driven focus on clinical insights to a solutions-driven, systems view that addresses all the various stakeholders and needs in the healthcare system. Supporting and connecting these people in a truly meaningful manner is directly related to creating value for patients.

[1] Using Compressed SENSE technology and compared to Philips exams without Compressed SENSE

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