History
History of Smidek Management International GmbH
Smidek Management International GmbH in Austria took over the healthcare PPP business with special focus on Africa and Turkey from AME International GmbH, after the three owners of AME International GmbH decided in 2013 to demerge AME international GmbH into two specialised companies.
HOW IT STARTED:
It was a key vision of the founders of AME that Healthcare-IT will become a driver for healthcare delivery in the future.
Therefore our focus right from the beginning was to get involved in a Film- and Paperless Hospital project.
We got this opportunity in 1996 in connection with the commencement of the turn-key implementation of the 960 bed Selayang Hospital (near Kuala Lumpur) for the Ministry of Health of Malaysia.
The selected general contractor, Radicare SDN BHD, appointed AME with the Sub-Contract for the Total Hospital Information System. This sub contract included design, engineering, implementation and commissioning of the hospital information system by AME with go-live date in 1999.
AME selected key suppliers, such as Cerner Corp./USA, Siemens AG, Compaq (HP), Oracle and 3 COM (now HP) for this first Film- and Paperless Hospital in South East Asia. The project went live (into operation) ahead of the contractual agreed completion date.
A team of Health-IT experts had been globally recruited to prepare the implementation, integration, testing and training in a testing and training centre which was established in Kuala Lumpur to carry-out these activities while the hospital was still under construction.
The Selayang hospital is now successfully in operation since more than 12 years.
HOW IT WENT ON:
Based on the successful completion of Selayang hospital, AME, together with Cerner Corp., became Preferred Bidder (ahead of EDS as reserved Bidder) in the NHS PFI/PPP tender for the integrated Hospital Information System (HIS) for the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, UK.
After extensive contract negotiations and design phase, the project was unfortunately brought to a hold, as the UK government decided to also include Royal Berkshire hospital in the forthcoming centralized countrywide health IT programme.
All costs incurred by AME were refunded by the UK government. Furthermore these project provided a unique opportunity to acquire important legal and technical PFI/PPP experience to AME.
The experience in the UK enabled AME to get involved at an early stage in the first hospital PPP project in South Africa.
AME became partner/shareholder in the special purpose company named IMPILO Consortium (Pty) Ltd., incorporated in Durban, South Africa. IMPILO became Preferred Bidder and subsequently contractor in 2002 for the 15 year PPP contract for the 960 bed Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH) in Durban.
The construction of IALCH was already completed at the time of contract signature for the PPP contract, which covered the full FM, medical equipment and IT services.
In IMPILO Consortium (Pty) Ltd., AME, through its affiliated company AME Africa (Pty.) Ltd., is in charge of the turn-key implementation of the fully integrated IT-system, the full (24/7) operation, support and the technological refresh on a “State of the Art” basis for all systems and equipment.
AME selected key suppliers, such as Siemens, HP, CISCO, SAP, Oracle and ISOFT/Medicom for this first Film- and Paperless Hospital in Africa. Based on a fast track implementation first patients went live on the system within 6 months.
Furthermore, as this PPP deal also covered the financing and a Rand/Euro swap over the 15 years (provided through Rand Merchang Bank, South Africa), we were awarded best PPP Deal in Africa by Euromoney London.
WHERE WE STAND TODAY:
In 2007 AME became the first global Value Added Reseller of Siemens for Soarian Medsuite HIS (which Siemens just acquired from Thrasys Inc., San Francisco).
From 2008 to 2011 AME implemented Soarian MedSuite HIS in 5 large hospitals projects (approximately 5100 beds in total), mainly:
o 2 Teaching Hospitals in Lithuania, the 2400 bed University hospital in Kaunas and the 900 bed hospital in Klaipedas (in English and Lithuanian language)
o a 300 bed hospital in Cairo, Egypt (in English and Arabic language)
o The 700 bed Sebokeng General Hospital in Gauteng, South Africa - the pilot project for a full roll-out of HIS and EHR to all 37 public hospitals and 300 clinics in the province Gauteng
o Migration of the 840 bed IALCH hospital in Durban from ISOFT/Medicom to Soarian MedSuite HIS.
The IALCH PPP contract has now been successfully operating for 15 years.
The IALCH PPP contract was for 15 years startin 2002 till 2017.
In early 2017 the excisting contract was extendend till early 2020, a 3 year extention.
The South African government has announced 5 new PPP projects for Central Hospitals in 4 provinces of the country. Based on the success with IALCH in Durban, AME is expected to be involved in future hospital PPP projects in South Africa.
Based on the contract for the preliminary design of a country wide EHR for the National Ministry of Health of South Africa carried out (in a consortium with IBM and Oracle). We expect the roll-out to start in 2019 over a 10 year period.