Providing the financial flexibility to drive progress

Healthcare providers frequently approach CHG-MERIDIAN to find out how to gain cost transparency and identify potential for savings in their capital spending. Peter Krause cites the example of a hospital that needs to make a decision about a new MRI machine: “Capital spending on healthcare technology is usually associated with high upfront costs. However, 75 per cent of hospitals in Germany are not in a position to make the necessary investment. They simply don’t have enough capital to undertake essential modernization and digitalization projects.”

CHG-MERIDIAN’s 360-degree service offering covers three interlocking phases: Planning and procurement (preparation phase), commissioning and management (productive phase), and remarketing and certified data erasure (end-of-life phase). To make the processes within this product lifecycle transparent, we use our proprietary technology management system, TESMA®. The application provides a central database for all key business information, making it available in real time.

At the start of every new customer relationship, CHG-MERIDIAN conducts a full commercial and technological review of all the equipment in use and current capital spending. The objective is to build up a detailed picture of administrative processes and to identify potential efficiency gains in the use of medical technology. “We develop customized business concepts in order to harmonize equipment portfolios and streamline processes,” says Peter Krause. “It’s about asking key questions such as which technology is unsuitable and might therefore result in increased maintenance costs? Can the number of suppliers be reduced, cutting training costs and potentially also preventing inappropriate use of the equipment? Is it possible to optimize procurement of consumables?”

On the basis of its review, CHG-MERIDIAN creates a suitable financing and charging model for the customer. For healthcare providers this could be a finance plan that is based on revenue (pay-per-procedure), on the useful economic life (pay-as-you-earn), or on the number of operations carried out to finance an operating theatre (pay-per-theatre), or it could be an overall financing package. CHG-MERIDIAN ensures that liquidity is retained and that income is generated from the remarketing of old equipment.

In the healthcare industry, return on investment is directly dependent on the estimated number of cases and the amounts that can be billed for them. This makes it difficult to accurately forecast cost efficiency and adds an element of risk to the financial planning process. CHG-MERIDIAN’s pay-per-procedure model gives hospitals more control over their capital investment. Unlike with conventional billing models, the calculation is done backward from the individual treatment case rather than forward from the acquisition cost. This means that the lease instalment is based on the expected number of treatments and the potential associated revenue, with the financing partner bearing some of the risk of deviation in the number of treatments.

Using pay-per procedure models to manage the risks of investing in healthcare technology

sample calculation:

• expected number of treatments per year: 2,500 (or more)
• price per procedure: €100
• price of a CAT scanner: €1,000,000
• annual cost of maintenance / operating supplies: €100,000
• lifetime: 84 months

Read more about our pay-per-use models:

An end to high up-front costs

It’s not just the procurement of medical technology that can prove challenging for healthcare providers. CHG-MERIDIAN also supports its customers during the end-of-life phase. Its professional portfolio of services covers everything from the deinstallation and collection of the assets to certified data erasure and reconditioning and remarketing or environmentally responsible disposal of equipment. This ensures that the healthcare providers derive full benefit from the residual value of their systems. Our Technology and Service Center offers the perfect solution for every type of asset.

According to the latest D21-Digital-Index survey, employees are still primarily teaching themselves digital skills outside of work. The onus is therefore on healthcare providers to actively develop the digital expertise of their workforce so that they can remain efficient and competitive.

One option here are Employer Benefit Solutions such as the Employee PC Program, in which companies provide their employees with mobile devices for personal use. This allows doctors, nurses, hospital managers, and other hospital staff to familiarize themselves with new topics, applications, and trends in their own time. Not only will they gain a basic understanding of the technical aspects, they will also become more proficient users of digital technologies. Such employee benefit programs are profitable for healthcare providers because developing digital competence can unlock efficiency gains in day-to-day medical work. They can also make healthcare providers more attractive as employers in the modern labor market.

Peter Krause explains how the Employee PC Program is implemented: “In the initial stages, we work with the customer to determine which communication devices need to be provided to their employees. We then put together individual leasing plans for the devices. The Employer Benefit Solution is cost-neutral for the employer because the use of company communications technology is tax-free pursuant to section 3 no. 45 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG). Employees pay for their device in instalments deducted from their salary and enjoy highly competitive terms for the latest high-end devices thanks to the tax exemption.”

We are experts in facilitating the growing use of digital technologies. Any change to existing structures requires close collaboration with management and employees in order to successfully integrate the new technologies into the culture of the organization. “You can only deploy the latest technologies and equipment if the people you employ are willing and able to use them with confidence,” says Peter Krause.

See also:

How important are digital skills in healthcare?

Digitalization increases need for qualification in healthcare

CHG-MERIDIAN’s service portfolio also includes solutions for convenient mobile working (Enterprise Mobility Solutions), for real-time digital communications (Digital Signage Solutions), for the optimization of output infrastructures (Output Solutions) and IT workstations (Managed Desktop Solutions) and for the rollout, financing, and management of software (Software Solutions).

CHG-MERIDIAN enables healthcare providers to optimize their systems and technology along the entire value chain and to equip their managers and employees with essential digital skills. It aims to improve patient care and cost effectiveness and to help healthcare providers remain competitive and adaptable to changing needs. The resulting cost savings and efficiency gains provide the financial flexibility for new investments to be made in the digital hospitals of tomorrow.