University of Missouri, Siemens join forces to address gaps in healthcare

Siemens Healthineers and University of Missouri System (UM System) are partnering to set up the Alliance for Precision Health, an effort that aims to transform healthcare delivery and address a growing skills gap in the sector. 

The US$133 million partnership agreement will leverage their joint expertise to advance innovations in precision care and digital health solutions, and promote education and workforce development. 

Towards that end, effort that goes into education and training for the delivery of next-generation healthcare will be heightened in the coming decade. 

UM System President Mun Y Choi said forming an alliance with Siemens enables the System to work towards their mission. 

“Our vision for the entire UM System is to advance the opportunities for success and well-being in Missouri, the nation and the world through transformative teaching, research, innovation, engagement, and inclusion,” he said. 

This partnership will give all four UM System campuses and UM Health Care access to Siemens’ leading-edge medical technology and training resources for the next generation of workers in healthcare.

This will expose UM System students to top industry standards of healthcare solutions, easing their transition into the workforce and giving them a competitive advantage as a potential recruit. They will also benefit from gaining deeper insights into the industry via direct access to field experts. 

Through the partnership, Siemens and UM System plan to co-develop innovation research projects and enhance opportunities for students via curricula and mentorship programmes. 

Preparing the students for the workforce will secure a steady pipeline for tomorrow’s healthcare delivery, which underscores the main purpose of this alliance. 

Siemens, meanwhile, will gain real-world data of its healthcare solutions from the experts at the UM System and MU Health Care. 

To accelerate life-saving treatments from bench to bedside

In addition, the partnership includes supporting the state’s NextGen Precision Health Initiative, a central facility supporting precision health initiatives in the region at large. 

Siemens Healthineers President and Head of the Americas David Pacitti said the partnership will “transform the way that healthcare is delivered and train the clinical and engineering workforce of the future.”

“This unique alliance leverages the engineering expertise of Siemens Healthineers along with our innovative systems and services in tandem with the research and education acumen of the UM System and the clinical expertise of MU Health Care.”

The partnership will accelerate research efforts that are focussed on treatments for diseases including but not limited to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular disease, that plague Missourians and patients from around the world. 

The German healthcare technology maker will be furnishing the institute with healthcare equipment and the required infrastructure whereas UM System will be providing the necessary expertise to conduct the research. 

The US$200 million NextGen Precision Health Institute is currently under construction at UM’s flagship campus in Columbia. The building will comprise laboratories, classrooms, and innovative spaces to stimulate research innovations in healthcare delivery. 

The institute plans to open its doors in October 2021 to accelerate research, education, and clinical care goals of the initiative in a collaborative manner.