Philips and Salesforce.com ally on cloud-based healthcare platform

Philips has announced a new collaboration with Salesforce.com to produce a new healthcare IT platform using cloud technology.

The open cloud service will leverage Philips' leading positions in medical technology, clinical applications and clinical informatics, as well as Salesforce.com's proven leadership in enterprise cloud computing, innovation and customer engagement.

Emphasising patient relationship management as its core feature, the platform will enable medical device and data interoperability, enhancing clinical decision-making and enabling patients to take a more active role in managing their personal health.

The collaboration has already resulted in two clinical applications, Philips eCareCoordinator and Philips eCareCompanion, which will be launched on the new platform later this summer.

Frans van Houten, chief executive officer of Philips, said: "Together with Salesforce.com, we have a tremendous opportunity to reshape and optimise the way healthcare is delivered and provide better access to data across the continuum of care."

The company also launched a new interventional X-ray system called NeuroSuite last month, with the first unit installed at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.