Proactive remote support helps reduce equipment downtime
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Supporting Cairo’s radiology leaders
In the Middle East’s largest city, high patient numbers can stretch even the most well-resourced hospitals. However, at Cairo’s Misr Radiology Center and Wadi El-Neel Hospital, staff stay con dent they can offer high quality MR scans whenever patients need them. Both sites count on the support of Philips Customer Services. As regional leaders, this radiology center and hospital have the same needs as other top facilities in the world – robust, reliable imaging systems, every day. It’s simple: premium MR must come with premium service.
Misr Radiology Center
Who? Where?
Metwally Ahmed Ahmed ELSayed and Walid Mohammed Saber Sayed, technicians at Misr Radiology Center, Cairo, Egypt
Challenge?
To offer leading, reliable radiology service to private MR patients in Cairo and the surrounding region
Solution?
Customized service agreements designed by Philips Customer Services. 24/7 service availability for high uptime, improved utilization of systems through Philips Remote Services
High uptime for high demand
“Downtime? We cannot accept any downtime.” The private clinic has two branches in Cairo. Systems need to run efficiently to cater to a high patient volume. “We have about 100 cases every day,” Mr. Walid says. The center’s Philips Achieva 1.5T was converted through a SmartPath upgrade from an Intera machine. Mr. Metwally leads the team, while Mr. Walid is responsible for the MR equipment. “We have been working with Philips for a very long time,” says Mr. Walid. In fact, the partnership has lasted more than a decade so far. “We are very happy with the Philips machine. It’s a very easy machine to use: clear software, straightforward hardware.” Starting with good equipment is important, but what else? Mr. Walid sums up the easy process when they need support: “When I have problems in our center and with our machine, I just call the call center. They answer rapidly and after one-hour maximum, send an engineer who comes to solve the problem. And meanwhile we try to solve the problem with the call center until the engineer comes.” His enthusiasm is hard to ignore, as he emphasizes the superior service experience they enjoy with Philips compared to another equipment vendor they work with. “Philips do the service in time. Yes, we rely on them.” “Sometimes we put pressure and stress on the service team, but I think they are very patient and they stick to the agreement.” The MR system is covered with a complete contract for all parts delivery and work – around-the-clock, including weekends.1
Metwally Ahmed Ahmed ELSayed and Walid Mohammed Saber Sayed are technicians at Misr Radiology Center. As they explain, downtime is simply not an option when the center must be ready to receive patients 24/7. Their drive for perfection is reflected in the Egyptian Medical Syndicate’s rating of their radiology center – as the best in all of Egypt.
Meeting needs with flexible services
The right fit for you
Working as one with the team “When we call them, they have an engineer who tries to x it via the phone. She tries to tell us what’s happening in the machine. If she can x the machine immediately, she does. But sometimes she can dispatch an engineer to be onsite.” This flexibility is important, but whether on the phone or onsite, Mr. Walid says “it’s important to have a personal contact.” Hands-on service and training The technicians welcome the face-to-face contact with Philips every one or two weeks. “The call center calls us to arrange a visit to update service needs or fixes for the software,” Mr. Walid says. “We also have an application specialist who alwaysupdates us regarding the applications.” Together they arrange sessions for application training using patient cases, “just like a workshop.” It’s a collaborative approach. Always there, always on Remote service is particularly valuable for the center, and has made a difference to the way they work. “We have to depend on the remote service,” Mr. Walid says. In a facility with a busy workload (in a city with notorious trac problems), remote service means a quicker response and less disruption to the technicians’ daily work. The team appreciates the expanding range of service that can be done remotely, and would like to see more remote application support. Remote monitoring is also an important form of proactive support. “We have cooling equipment or components containing liquid. Sometimes Philips tell us that the liquid needs to be filled up to prevent the machine becoming faulty. They are monitoring the systems and arrange an urgent visit to prevent problems or prepare something for the future.” Mr. Walid is con dent: “You have a strong service team. Reliable. Good management.” The center also has a new Philips Ingenuity TF PET/CT system, naturally complete with a service contract. “I would recommend Philips to all the potential customers.”
Wadi El-Neel Hospital
Who? Where?
Yasmin Ahmed, biomedical engineer for MR, Wadi El-Neel Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
Challenge?
Radiology service to governmental and public MR patients in Cairo and the surrounding region
Solution?
Customized service agreements designed by Philips Customer Services 24/7 service availability for high uptime, improved utilization of systems through Philips Remote Services
Putting patients first
Wadi El-Neel Hospital is a governmental, semi-military hospital. As a general hospital, it performs all kinds of exams and operations. It has been rated as one of the best in Egypt, and was accredited with a prominent score by Joint Commission International in 2013. “When the system is down, we have a problem,” says Yasmin Ahmed “because we have VIP cases and it’s reserved at a certain time. So if patients come and they need MR, they want to find the system working for his case.” Ms. Ahmed is the engineer heading the technical department for MR, responsible for its ongoing maintenance. “The biggest challenge is to have the MR working 24 hours.” The Philips Panorama HFO (high field, open) MR system is needed for both the hospital’s emergency department, as well as other patients who are referred for MR scans at any time of the day. The patients are mostly civilians, alongside a number of government agents. To the sta‑ though, every patient is a ‘Very Important Patient.
Understanding your needs, solutions designed for you Catering to 20-23 patients every day – around 150 a week – the hospital relies heavily on its only MR system being up and operational 24/7. Any downtime would mean “the cases that would come to us would have to go to another hospital – this is unacceptable,” Ms. Ahmed says. In addition, “When the system is down for a long time it is costly financially.” Of the choice facing her hospital’s decision-makers, she says: “I think they choose Philips as the leader in MR. And of course it makes sense to choose the service from Philips for MR.” Of course the technology itself must be world-class, but without the right service support, the system – and staff – cannot work. Ms. Ahmed says another challenge is training new technicians on the MR. Evidently the hospital needs a complete package. In Philips, they’ve found a partner who understands their needs and can design the right solutions.
"When Philips calls us before we call them, it’s a proactive action. It increases the hours our systemis up for use.”
Yasmin Ahmed, biomedical engineer for MR, Wadi El-Neel Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
Full coverage So how does it work in practice? “First, if we call the call center during working hours, they try to look remotely,” says Ms. Ahmed. “They try to connect and access the MR to x if there’s a problem. If they don’t succeed, they send an engineer as soon as possible.” The time it takes depends on the problem. In any case, it feels reassuring to be able to call for support for everything from printing problems, to service requiring replacement parts, and know that it will be taken care of. After two years’ warranty, the hospital chose a service agreement that has so far continued for one and a half years – “Of course we have deals with Philips for the long term in order to keep our MR up all the time.” Ms. Ahmed says the contract “covers everything: engineer hours, parts, engineer visits every month and when called.”2 The hospital has chosen options such as a guarantee of no downtime longer than 24 hours, and is contemplating extending their coverage towards full service also on weekends. Regarding training, she says, “When we install the system or new applications, Philips gives training for all the technicians we have, and all the doctors. And when we hire new technicians, we update them on all the applications they have to use.” In this way, staff share both the responsibility and ability to ensure the system is always working, and uptime is optimized.
Proactive remote support “When Philips calls us before we call them, it’s a proactive action. It increases the hours our system is up for use. And if there’s a problem they can’t solve remotely and they come onsite, the response of their engineers is faster than we had before. So it really increases the uptime of our MR.”
How Philips provides or names the service is not as important as its effects, which Ms. Ahmed can clearly illustrate. “They’re connected to our system. So when there is a helium loss or something they call us to ask if the switch is on or off. When it’s off they know – so they call us to check if there is a problem.”
Ms. Ahmed notes that the hospital also has other solutions from Philips. These X-ray and cardiovascular solutions are also covered by Philips service agreements. “I would recommend Philips of course!”
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1 Misr Radiology Center has chosen from various options for the equivalent of a top-of-the range Philips RightFit service agreement. Availability depends on geography. 2 Equivalent to a premium Philips RightFit service agreement. Availability depends on geography.
