Future‑proofing cardiology care at OYS through a Philips partnership
- Featuring Philips
- Featuring
- Duration 4: 48
As one of Finland’s five university hospitals and a key provider of specialized care, Oulu University Hospital (OYS) is responsible for meeting growing cardiology demand—now and in the future. Serving nearly 750,000 residents across Northern Finland, OYS must streamline care pathways, reduce delays, and support fast, safe decision-making. Through its long-term partnership with Philips, OYS is advancing a unified approach to imaging, monitoring, and workflows aligned with its OYS2030 ambition to become one of the world’s smartest hospitals.
At-a-glance:
- Challenge: As one of the largest hospitals in the region, OYS must build a future-proof cardiology department capable of treating patients faster and reducing waiting times, even as demand for invasive cardiology care grows. (01:28–01:45)
- Solution: A long-term strategic partnership with Philips and the implementation of a unified cardiology ecosystem that standardizes imaging, patient monitoring, and data flow across emergency, interventional, and follow-up care. (00:00–01:08 | 01:45–02:15)
- Impact: To work towards the OYS2030 agenda with continuous monitoring, seamless data flow, and automated documentation to improve healthcare workers’ efficiency, safety, and time with patients. (02:25–04:26)
A partnership built around people, pathways, and performance
When OYS set out on its large-scale transformation through the OYS2030 renewal program, it defined a clear ambition: to become one of the world’s smartest hospitals. This program is transforming both operations and facilities, including the construction of a new hospital designed to support future specialized care. Through its partnership with Philips, OYS is advancing this vision by aligning technology, workflows, and clinical practices. Rather than focusing on individual systems, the collaboration supports a unified approach to care delivery, helping OYS evolve its operations to meet the demands of future specialized care.
For the OYS Heart Centre (OYS Sydän), which performs more than 15,000 cardiac examinations annually, over 5,000 invasive diagnostic and interventional procedures across eight labs, and approximately 350 bypass and valve surgeries each year—this partnership has meant a move beyond isolated systems and toward a shared way of working. By aligning goals and developing workflows together, OYS has been able to standardize daily practices, simplify training, and enable staff across the department to deliver care more efficiently. The result is a working environment where systems support clinicians, rather than slow them down, and where collaboration drives continuous improvement.
We work together with our partner; the work and goals are aligned. We've been able to develop our training, workflow, and practices - all of this has helped us make our operations more efficient and safer, and also, in part, more cost-effective.
Kari Ylitalo
Administrative Medical Director
This collaboration is especially critical given OYS’s responsibility as one of the largest hospitals serving as the center for specialized care in the region. Patients arrive through many different entry points, including emergency care, and invasive cardiology procedures must happen without unnecessary delay. With all eight labs equipped with the latest release of Philips’ Image Guided Therapy System – Azurion with FlexArm – an advanced image-guided therapy platform that offers the latest innovations to help physicians improve efficiency, workflow and treatment outcomes, while also delivering a unique patient and staff experience. This shared foundation reduces variation, supports faster decision-making, and helps teams manage high patient volumes while maintaining a consistent standard of care.
The value of this partnership becomes most visible at the patient’s bedside. Oulu University hospital is equipped with Philips enterprise solution for hospital patient monitoring. Now their cath labs offer the latest Philips enterprise solutions and can help clinicians offer well-rounded care for their patient. Patient data follows the patient, from admission to procedure rooms, to further care without disruption. Vital signs are recorded directly into hospital information systems, removing the need for manual documentation and reducing routine workload. By easing these everyday tasks, clinicians gain something essential: more time with their patients. Together, OYS and Philips are building cardiology workflows that support safer care with the aim of becoming the world's smartest hospital.
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Disclaimer
Results are specific to the institution where they were obtained and may not reflect the results achievable at other institutions. Results in other cases may vary.