The global circle
Smart healthcare
HEALTHCARE
we want to maintain . We want to provide services to the customers around these installed instruments , and if a customer decides to upgrade , or a new technology comes out that delivers much higher medical performance , then we use the older instruments strategically .”
The global circle
Philips has a refurbishment center in Europe and another two in the US , where its strips down the appliances , upgrades them and performs quality checks before shipping them out to customers around the world .
“ The refurbished market is very strong in Europe and in the US ,” Laubscher says . “ Mainly with smaller private clinics , so players who in the past had no access to this kind of equipment would have to refer their patients to bigger hospitals . Now they can afford these instruments and it ’ s fulfilling their needs for routine imaging and diagnosis . They can do it all in-house providing better services .”
Meanwhile , other countries present a challenge for them to export refurbed products to , as they have trade barriers in place to protect their local industries . Laubscher cites China , Brazil and India as a few places with this strict legislation .
Smart healthcare
Back in 1997 , in partnership with Sony , Philips introduced DVD players to the general public . As de rigeur as these products became in people ’ s homes , they are now pioneering smart tools in the healthcare industry like portable ultrasounds that can be employed anywhere .
By using ultrasounds on iPads , it ’ s possible for people to be diagnosed on the spot , whether on the road after a car accident , after suffering an injury at an event , or in a sports facility . When the person arrives at the hospital the medical staff will be fully prepared to treat them , which cuts down on time and cost , and generally improves the quality of the care .
Big data is essential to all these initiatives . “ It ’ s a really key element , because the circular economy is very knowledge-intensive ,” Laubscher says . “ You need to know a lot about the whereabouts of your products in order to plan how to use them most effectively .”
To enable this to run smoothly , Philips commissioned the Future
20 September 2017