Here is my introduction as requested. Life is a bear, isn't it?

No joke, my first post and I need your help. Sorry, this post is not about home based business. I am thinking of starting a cardiology blog that will cover topics like this. I am guessing that there are some bloggers out their. You should see some of the adsense ads for this niche, virtually untouched. And little old me, with eight years studying it. Bet I could come up with some killer keywords!

It is about a part of my life that is very important and I would like your opinion. If you have the time, research the companies mentioned in this article and leave your comment. I would like to hear from you!

This may be a subject that a lot of people are not familiar with. Then again, since most of you are familiar with industry consolidation in the PC software industry, you may. Let me be clear here in case someone is considering litigation. This is an opinion only. It is an opinion based on seven years of experience being a customer of cardiology software vendors.

Health care has always been big business. If you were not aware, cardiology has become one of the biggest money makers for heath care systems. There is big money in x-ray, hemodynamic monitoring, inventory, billing, patient record, etc., etc. Today, many large companies like Siemens, GE, LumedX and Philips are developing applications called "CVIS" or cardiovascular information systems to bring all of the activities and patient occurances into one main system.

The only company that has a true and functional CVIS is LumedX. The problem with LumedX is that it does not have the R&D money that the big companies have. They do not sell x-ray or hemodynamics systems, they do not have truely integrated systems that are native to their application, yet they are the best on the market today because they are able to negotiate with the larger companies that have the hemodynamics systems that customers want them to interface with. They have a great number of interfaces with a great number of health care applications.

The big companies, for the most part, obtain their CVIS systems through acquisition. What I have experienced in these cases is that they buy market share and cut back on development and support. This is the worst thing that can happen to a CVIS. The application has been developed to a point where integration with other systems is minimal. The bigger company should be thinking about increasing the integration efforts to compete more effectively with companies like LumedX. LumedX has the greater number of integration points with other hospital systems by far.

There is one large company that has gotten into the CVIS business by developing it's own product. That company is Siemens. There is a full release coming up in early 2007 that is supposed to be the bomb in CVIS applications. It is not an acquired application and has been built from the ground up. I can't help but think that, similar to German companies like BMW and Mercedes, that this product will be an engineering wonder that will compete for years to come.

Siemens used to offer LumedX as its CVIS solution, because LumedX is the furthest along on this road with respect to development. Could it be that this German giant can make inroads in a market that is already flush with application solutions to a problem that has been around for almost a decade? Only time will tell, but like I said, only those companies with large R&D budgets will be able to compete.

Siemens has the largest gross income of all the companies offering a CVIS. There is also the customer service aspects of an application of this scope. Do you think that an acquiring company that implements cut-backs in R&D and service will give good customer service? I think I would rather go with the new guy on the block that is not three thousand miles away, LumedX is based in Seattle, Siemens is based in Carey NC, that will be responsive to the needs of cardiology departments on the east coast specifically because that is where most of the hospitals are.

Siemens has a vast support system that is housed in a six story building located in Carey NC they refer to as the "upline center". They have as many employees working in this center as LumedX has in it's main office. I know, I have been there. Hold times for Siemens are minimal and resolutions usually take place in less than 24 hours. Technicians at Siemens are pleasant and knowledgeable. Teams are easily accessed in particularly difficult cases.

In eight years of experience I have not had the customer service response from competitors that Siemens has to offer on it's products. X-ray tubes are replaced under contract in 24 hours. Their SRS remote technology allows instant access to the Siemens computer systems running in a hospital. They even have a new product called Gaurdian that automatically monitors the contolling computers by reading the event logs for specific error codes. No one else has this technology. They can be aware of any problems occuring with x-ray, hemodynamics, or other Siemens applications residing in a hospital's cardiology department before that department becomes aware of the problem. An x-ray tube could blow overnight, Siemens be notified, and a technician dispatched to repair it. In the morning when staff comes into work, they find the service technician waiting on them to sign the service paperwork. The lab is ready to go.

If you didn't know, most cardiac catheterization labratory suites bring in about $250,000.00 per day in revenue. That is for one room! One room goes down and a great deal of money is lost. Guardian solves this problem. This is customer service at it's best!

Seems like an easy choice taking the customer service aspects into consideration.

 

Welcome to dp, but maybe you need to post all this information to somewhere else.

 

Personally I find the Siemens "line-up" to be very confusing. You mention they are a german company but have a support site in NC. What products are supported in NC and where is the product development done? I am not sure if it helps to have a support office in NC but the product people all in Germany (much more than 3000 miles away!) Also I am confused about Sorian and their new Syngo. Are they integrated? They seem to be completely different product lines...one for imaging and one for data???? Syngo seems to be the "new" branding of Kinedx but I am not sure how it relates to Sorian. And where does Acom, MagicWeb and Sensis all fit in? Or are they being replaced by Syngo and Sorian? It is difficult to get answers from Siemens as they are all sold by different sales reps. In general, Seimens, like GE and others, keep changing their direction. The CV service line might be one of the most profitable for healthcare but we are also faced with many budget cuts and accountability for how we spend money. Dollars cannot be spent on products that continue to change, with no clear direction or solid, deliverable products. It might be good for the vendor but it certainly is not good for the consumer. I'll stick with what has been around for awhile and is proven, as opposed to a "vision" that may or may not become a reality.

 

Wow, what a long introductory post. Welcome to DP too!

I prefer General Electric over all other brands myself followed by Sylvania.

 

Syngo is imaging, Sensis is Hemodynamics (ekg), Sorian Cardiology is Cardiology Information System (CVIS). Yes, they are all integrated by Siemens. The IT department has to do little work to make the integration work. That and the Hospital information system (HIS) is also Siemens.

When Siemens first started selling the Hemo system in the US a few years ago, it was terrible and we tossed it. They came back about a year ago and the product had been developed beyond our dreams. Now they are doing the same with Sorian Cardiology. I think they are going to be the next big thing in Cardiology systems. LumedX is the biggest right now, and I have also worked with them. Again, service is something to be desired.

Development 3000 miles away does not seem to be an issue when applications work the way they are supposed to. Take it from a programmer...me. Service counts.

GE systems are alright, but their service is something to be desired.

Hey, thanks for the feedback.

And can someone give the panther another sleeping pill please?