The new Kangaroo™ feeding tube with IRIS technology is now fully launched within the European market. New Kangaroo™ feeding tube with IRIS technology represents for us a great opportunity to develop new revenue and reinforce the Kangaroo™ brand within the Nutritional Delivery business. Iris represents a groundbreaking technology helping our clinicians to have confirmation that the tube has been inserted into the right place. Placing a feeding tube is considered as an easy way to feed patients, mainly in acute settings, and often the placement procedure is considered simple. The feeding tube placement procedure has never been standardized around the world and no gold standard exists to check that nasogastric tubes are in the right place. This insertion procedure is considered as being blind. During blind procedures the clinician cannot see where they are going during the insertion. The risk of this is that the nasogastric tube may be inserted into the airways instead of the esophagus which can be life threatening. There are various checking methods across different countries and hospitals. Evidence demonstrates that this procedure is not as simple as it seems. In October 2012 the NHS in the UK denounced that, in the period 2011/12, there were 326 never events reported to Strategic Health Authorities, of these 23 were caused by nasogastric tubes misplacements. A meta-analysis conducted on 9931 patients showed there were 187 improper tube placements, among these 18.7% reported pneumothoraxes, at least 5 of which (2,7%) resulted in patient death. Some evidence also highlights the risk of poor interpretations of X-ray, which can lead to clinicians not identifying the occurrence of misplacements.

The main IRIS advantage is the visual aid that will help our clinicians to really check where they are placing the tube and therefore reducing the risk of misplacement. This is not an Xray, or a magnetic technology but is a visual innovation, which is telling again to Nutritional specialists that Covidien is strongly involved in innovation to deliver safe products for patients and clinicians.

Author: Anna Pietronigro - European Product Director- Nutritional Delivery & Cardiothoracic

INVOS™ Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter THE CLINICAL STANDARD

When it comes to clinical evidence, the INVOS™ cerebral/somatic oximeter stands alone. Clinicians around the world have come to rely on the INVOS™ system to guide their decisions in critical situations. Trust has been earned through both clinical performance and by extensive published research. For those reasons, the INVOS system is the clinical standard in regional oximetry. INVOS™ technology enables clinicians to detect subtle, physiologic changes in saturation and cerebral perfusion in order to make timely, critical lifesaving decisions for improved.

INVOS™ Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter – THE SOLUTION FOR BEACH CHAIR SHOULDER SURGERY The Beach Chair Position Market has been identified as new segment for additional growth. Therefore all Product Managers and Advanced Parameter Specialists were clinically trained by our KOL Dr. Aguirre, Balgrist University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland in Q3.

Why Beach Chair? Cases of ischaemic brain damage have been reported in relatively healthy patients undergoing shoulder surgery in beach chair position. Unrecognized cerebral hypoperfusion may have contributed to these catastrophic events, indicating that routine anaesthesia monitoring may not suffice1. INVOS™ Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter provides a direct measure of the adequacy of brain oxygenation. Its real time regional oxygen saturation (rS02) immediately alerts when brain perfusion is compromised allowing to deploy corrective intervention.

Next Step: As a next step we will continue to evaluate the market opportunity locally, drive market awareness and clinical education.

Ref: A.T. Moerman et al: Cerebral oxygen desaturation during beach chair position, European Society of Anassthesiology 2011

Author: Katja Wambersky

Sentinel Seal™ portable chest drainage unit, the new digital drainage system from Covidien, has been recently launched in Europe during the ESTS congress in Copenhagen. This new chest drainage unit represents Covidien’ s response to the need for simplifying patient management , increasing healthcare efficiency and reducing the length of hospital stay for patients (Ref 1). Before the introduction of digital chest drainage units, the management of patients was dependent on the visual interpretation of bubbling within the drainage chamber. This method has no possibility of recording air leak history or any alarm features that alert when the system is not operating properly.

Digital chest drainage unit technology already exists in the market and is recognized as an effective system to ensure the easy management of patients and a reduction in their hospital stay.

Sentinel Seal™ portable chest drainage unit features:

    • An higher suction power than our main competitor (Medela)(Ref 2). This means that it is suitable to be used in every thoracic /cardiac surgical procedure irrespective of any air leak

    • A longer term data history of up to 12 days to assist clinical decision-making about prescribed drainage and removal of the drain

    • A complete accessories range to enhance patient mobility

This new product complements the current chest drainage unit product portfolio with annual sales of $13m. With this new product we can both keep our existing customers and develop new revenue.

Ref 1 - MCHENRY, Ill., Jan. 28, 2014 Thopaz™ Chest Drainage Shortens Chest Tube Duration and Length of Stay by One Full Day

Ref 2 - Thopaz™ Digital chest drainage system, Instructions for use, 18 Technical Specifications

Author: Anna Pietronigro - European Product Director- Nutritional Delivery & Cardiothoracic

The European Association for Endoscopic Surgery and other interventional techniques (EAES) took place this year in Paris from June 25-28, counting with the participation of a broad international medical community.

Covidien was represented in the Congress with one of the largest booths and raised the attention of several surgeons, particularly looking for information about the latest developments.

Among all products displayed in the booth, visitors have shown a strong interest for iDrive Ultra, the new LigaSure Maryland device, Radial Reload and last but not least, Clearify!

The 2014 EAES has been an overall well attended and successful congress, which has given Covidien a great opportunity to present its latest developments and innovative technologies.

Author: Hugo Calefi Dias

May 22nd to the 24th 2014 saw the International Post Graduate Course of Minimal Invasive Endocrine Surgery held at the Strasbourg Ircad Centre.

This course is held every 2 years and comprises of a wealth of surgical expertise from across the globe. The meeting was attended by 50 delegates from across Europe with a wide spread of different levels of skills within the Endocrine specialty.

Presentations, live link surgery and live porcine lab sessions allowed the delegates to discuss, try new techniques and technology relating to parathyroid, thyroid, adrenal and thymus surgery. The main topics of discussion were centered around 3 main approaches:

    • MIVAT - Minimal Invasive Video Assisted Thyroidectomy/Parathyroidectomy

    • Trans axillary Robotic Thyroidectomy

    • Retroperitoneal adrenalectomy

A large focus on MIVAT (Minimal Invasive Video Assisted Thyroidectomy) and the pros and cons of Robotic procedures (cost versus benefit) created a good debate amongst both faculty and delegates where general opinion was MIVAT & retroperitoneal were the next and most readily available step forwards. Robotic approaches, as one would imagine, are proven to be more time consuming and costly (2.5x more than standard approach) due to learning curve, set-up and access, but was not ruled out as a potential new approach.

This year’s faculty were as follows:

Course Directors:

    • Prof. Jacques Marescaux

    • Prof. Paolo Miccoli, Faculty

    • Patrick Aidan, France

    • Peter Angelos, USA

    • Khalil Bourahla, France

    • Laurent Brunaud, France

    • Bernard Dallemagne, Belgium

    • Quan-Yang Duh, USA

    • Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, USA

    • Lee Chen-Hsen, Taiwan

    • Lee Wei-Jei, Taiwan

    • Gabrielle Materazzi, Italy

    • Didier Mutter, France

    • Lorenze Novellin, France

    • Nicola Santelm, France

    • Michel Vix, France

    • Martin Walz, Germany

Thanks must also go to Joseph Whittmann for his consummate professionalism in enabling this course to be a success and also the running of the lab sessions.

If you have any additional questions relating to this, please do not hesitate in contacting me directly.

Author: Justin Rogers, Procedural Manager, Endocrine, H&N

Innovation is key to be successful. However, the concept of innovation includes product, trade programs but also service that need to be just as innovative as the products offered by the company. By disrupting the existing models, it may drive unique opportunities to address and better serve the Customer’s needs while bringing Customers in negotiating tracks where the competitors are not. The Sonicision™ Care Service fully fits this vision by providing an all-inclusive service to access to the latest ultrasonic dissection technology while lowering the overall cost of healthcare. Read now this white paper reporting healthcare challenges and solutions.

Author: Olivier Mathonnet, Senior Product Director Energy

Since the beginning of Q3, we decided to have a stronger interaction with you by organizing Open Stapling Reviews and developing feasible actions to be implemented this year. Additionally, the importance of protecting our business has been set as a clear priority and supported by Wilfred, during our last ELT meeting.

Looking at the sales performance of April & May, we are glad to see that you are really engaging your teams and making a difference in the Open Stapling results! Compared to the first 6 months of the year (P6 YTD vs PY), we had an improvement at the end of May in revenue and quantity % in almost all countries in Europe, varying between 1 to 7% in only 2 months!! (see attached Ranking file)

Despite of relatively weak sales in June across all business, we manage to close Q3 with clear improved results compared to the first two quarters of the year. These results show that your efforts are paying off and that we are finally moving to the right direction towards the year closing!

Many thanks for your commitment and dedication to Open Stapling, Looking forward to the continuation of your success.

Best regards, Hugo Calefi Dias

Author: Hugo Calefi Dias

The Austrian Surgeons Congress took place in Graz from June 25-27. The well positioned and designed Covidien booth directed the attention of the 1114 participants to us. Focus was our recently launched Symbotex™ Composite Mesh. In a lot of discussions we could highlight the superior properties versus competition.

During the Lunch Symposia Mr Pasquale Giordano spoke to a highly interested audience about A new Innovative Alternative for Anal Fistula Repair: The Permacol™ Collagen Paste multi center study . Afterwards surgeons had the possibility to discuss case examples in personal conversations. It was a great input before summer time.

Author: Elke Torossian

Since we launched the innovative Symbotex™ composite mesh in Germany we have engaged in many efforts to make this another successful launch. Our high motivated Sales Team is tirelessly in discussion with the competitive surgeons about the “new generation in mesh-repair”. The features are very convincing for the surgeons: easy mesh deployment, excellent tissue integration, exclusive 3D mesh structure makes the Symbotex™ composite attractive for successful hernia repair. Simply SMART HANDLING……SMART REPAIR………SMART DESIGN!! During the German Hernia Society Congress in Germany a lunch symposium took place with Dr. Weyhe, Germany. He’s very renowned in Germany due to his studies on mesh porosity and properties. (To know more about the publications of Dr. Weyhe please follow this link: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ - search for „Dr. Weyhe”. ) The conclusion of his presentation was: “With the SYMBOTEX™ composite mesh we make a giant leap towards the “ideal mesh”!” Early sales in Germany confirm our road to success. Since early Mai we sold more than 140 units with a revenue about 85.000,-€....SIMPLY FANTASTIC….thanks to the German Sales Team!

Author: Christiane Krapp

There are important dates we remember because of what we were doing or the place we were on that precise day. For Hernia Care Italy this date was April the 16th 2014. This was the date “The Abdominal Wall Repair” event took place in Rome.

The event was organized together with the ISHAWS (Italian Chapter of the EHS) by linking “live” 10 HUBS in 10 different cities in Italy to cover the whole country . It was also the first time that the presidents of the 3 most important Italian Surgical Societies and the European president of the EHS attended altogether an event dedicated to a single subject: Abdominal Wall Repair.

The event was also broadcasted from the private TV Channel of one of the Surgical Societies attending the event. More than 10 National KOLs were involved to coordinate more than 20 speakers and the different topics that every HUB developed throughout the event. Topics were:

    • Ventral Hernia: Terminology

    • Imaging

    • Patient Selection

    • Materials

    • Biologic Implants

    • Open Surgery: When?

    • Lap Surgery: When?

    • Day Surgery: Organisation

    • Spending Review

    • Innovation

More than 500 surgeons attended the event with the possibility to ask and answer questions raised during the lectures. For Hernia Care Italy the top of the moments was when Michel Therin in a superb lecture presented and launched Symbotex for the first time in Europe. Audience was amazed about Symbotex features.

We all learnt a lot about abdominal wall repairs and for Hernia Care Italy was also a challenging day from the organizational point of view. We received congratulations as trusted partner that innovates also in the way of communicating and partnering on scientific events and on the event itself because we were the first in Italy to use this innovative model.

At the end of the day when flying back home, I thought about the many things happened during the day but the most important one was that

I WAS THERE !

Author: Pedro Pablo Lopez

For two days in April, 20 renowned Spanish surgeons were invited by the Hernia team to participate in a round table at the Trevoux innovation center. This was a excellent opportunity for the group to interact with our R&D team, with Michel Therin, with the manufacturing team as part of a factory tour, and ultimately with the pipeline team. We gained valuable insights from the interaction and the surgeons were able to debate the merits of polypropylene vs. polyester vs. future textiles to come as well as gain an appreciation for covidien's dedication to the hernia procedure. Finally the group was offered a first look at the latest new product for IPOM technique: Symbotex. We now look forward to hearing back from them with regards to their experience with this new product. Thanks to the team from Trevoux for your excellent support.

Author: Jana Rodriguez

There were over 1700 delegates registered for this congress, and both Covidien symposiums were extremely well attended. The first symposium was an interactive debate on anal fistula treatment options, with the audience listening to three speakers on traditional fistulotomy, the LIFT technique and Permacol paste. Delegates were asked to vote before and after, and there was a significant shift in opinion on what treatment option is best for the given scenarion in the symposium. The second symposium delivered presentations on innovative techniques such as TA TME and robotic surgery in colo-rectal.

The overall feedback from delegates at the congress was excellent, and Covidien were seen as innovative, market-leaders within this surgical speciality.

Author: Ruth Hodgkinson & Nicholas Inman

The EVI team are currently targeting GP’s to increase awareness of the new NICE Guideline for the treatment of varicose veins (CG168) and the benefits of performing VENEFIT™ endothermal ablation over the traditional surgical stripping procedure.

The recently published NICE Guideline (CG168) recommends that patients with symptomatic Varicose Veins should be referred to a specialist vascular service, and then patients who are suitable for treatment should be offered endothermal ablation over surgical stripping. The ultimate aim of promoting the guidelines to GPs is to increase referrals to vascular surgeons for patients who can then be treated with VENEFIT™.

Pulse Live GP Meeting, Manchester June 2014 was a two-day national event for GPs and Practice Managers which was attended by over 450 attendees nationally.

The EVI team attended the Pulse Live meeting and had a stand in the main exhibition hall; which was very busy with GP’s showing a high level of interest in the VENEFIT™ procedure and the NICE guidelines.

During the Pulse live Meeting the EVI team hosted a 40 minute symposium called ‘Symptomatic Varicose Veins and Implementing The New NICE Guidelines’. Mr David Murray, Consultant Vascular Surgeon from Manchester Royal Infirmary spoke on ‘What do the guidelines say and which patients should be referred?’ followed by Mr Robert Salaman, Consultant Vascular Surgeon from The Royal Blackburn Hospital who spoke on ‘The Modern Management of Veins’. The presentations were very informative and well received by a full house of interested participants.

Attending delegates rated the symposium: ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ and other comments were: - ‘Clear explanation of a new technique with good feedback from experienced practitioners’ - ‘Useful overview of guidelines for management of varicose veins’ - ‘Interesting session, wrote many notes, updated information about managing varicosity’

The meeting was a great success and was the perfect arena to increase awareness of the NICE guidelines and of the newer treatments of varicose veins to GP’s. Additionally the Pulse Live meeting provided access to some key contacts from the Commissioning Live arena.

The EVI team are very keen to continue education around the recently published NICE Guideline for the treatment of varicose veins so involvement in future GP meetings will be a priority.

Author: Louise Mulvenna and Louisa Powell Smith

From April 27th until April 30th, Dr. Christian Popp, Director Training and Development, invited for an international Venefit™ Targeted Endovenous Therapy with ClosureFast™ catheter and Ultrasound imaging course with hands on training to the Covidien Fellbach office near Stuttgart. Venefit™ Targeted Endovenous Therapy is a state of the art treatment of chronicle venous insufficiency. Especially in Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands this market segment delivered in the recent years always a double digit growth. The Focus on endo venous treatments is gaining increased relevance for Covidien as a leading manufacturer of Vascular treatments.

As usual in all Coviden events a very international diverse group of very motivated employees gathered together: From England: Emma Greetham (Sales), Louise Mulvenna (Marketing), from Scotland Glenn Fleming (Sales), from France: Khalid Berdouz (Marketing) Anne-Lise Blanc (Clinical Education); from Poland: Robert Buda (Sales), Aleksandra Skutela (Sales) and from Germany: Fabienne Günthner (Sales).

Christian Popp conducted the medical section of the training and Juergen Bohn shared his knowledge in the area of “Best practice” and Ultrasound imaging. The most effective and intense parts were the ultrasound hands on course and the interactive discussion and role plays. At lot of skills and knowledge was exchanged and some of it immediately used in the US-image and vein access training.

Author: Thorsten Bassler-Hollenbach, Product Manager EVI Germany, Vascular Therapies

We planned some great activities during the National Congress. A Concerto symposium was the first one. It was a challenge as there were organized two other from the competitors at the same time, but we believed in our ability to gain the advantage. Before starting the meeting, there were around 80 seats prepared in the meeting room, we thought there were too many as we expected to receive around 40 attendees, so we removed 20 seats from the meeting room. As it started, minute by minute, more and more people arrived until there were no seats remaining!! Fortunately (in this case), our prediction was wrong and we had to bring in 60 extra seats. Finally, there were 100 attendees and the meeting was far bigger than our expectations, so this first story was a success! An Entrust dinner presentation was the second activity. We had high expectations for this meeting; Dr. Marone (H. San Raffaele. Milano) and Elli Soellner (Marketing Director Vascular Therapies PV Europe) came to Madrid to talk about Entrust experiences and clinical evidences. There was a delay during the Congress which disrupted our timing. The presentation was scheduled at 21.00 hrs but no one arrived at the restaurant. We assumed the worst! I went outside to wait for the attendees as we were afraid they had not seen the small entrance of the restaurant... Finally, the attendees began to arrive in one by one. At the end all of them arrived and the great presentations was done with a nice Entrust discussion from the attendees. It´s time now to follow up with those customers to know their experience with this nice product… again, our expectation was complimented. It´s another nice story to talk about…

Author: Javier Vera, Product Manager Peripheral Vascular Iberia

In April 2012 Covidien launched Onyx™ liquid embolic system for peripheral lesions (Indications for use include Embolization of lesions in the peripheral and neurovasculature, including arteriovenous malformations and hypervascular tumors). The introduction of Onyx™ liquid embolic system for peripheral indications as Endoleaks type I and II, Peripheral Arteriovenous Malformations and Bleedings on the European market has exceeded expectations and the product was well adopted by many centers across the region. In 2013 Covidien funded the project ORCA as an answer to a request from the market, that preferred a new formulation of PV Onyx™ liquid embolic systems, a formulation that gives less artifacts on CT scanning follow up (Ref 1). Artifacts on follow up CT scanning after treatment with PV Onyx™ liquid embolic system represent a challenge for the physician in identifying anatomical structures, especially after treatment of Endoleaks Type I and II and large peripheral AVMs. The development of the next generation Onyx™ 34L liquid embolic system for peripheral indications was realized in close cooperation between the R&D department in Boston, the R&D department in Irvine CA and the Marketing department in Europe. During the project we also have seen a need to distinguish the peripheral formulation of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system from NV Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system, which has also been a request from our customers. The new formulation of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system has a dedicated IFU (INDICATIONS: Embolization of lesions in the peripheral vasculature, Including endoleaks, arteriovenous malformation, bleeding and tumors) and a new packaging design. In this project we have also taken environmental considerations into account for the project plan. The new packaging for Onyx™ 34L liquid embolic system is made of 95% paper. Covidien is using less plastic materials in the new packaging compared to the current version of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic systems. It has become more and more important that we as a company incorporate environmental considerations in our project plans when developing new products. In almost all tender requests from procurement departments, we are asked to declare the type of packaging material that is used. Environmental thinking has been a strong selling argument. 27th of June 2014 we did the first LMR case with the new formulation of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system (Onyx™ 34L liquid embolic system) at S. Carlo hospital in Milan with Dr Mingazzi and the results from this first case were very positive. Comment from Dr Mingazzi: ”the radiopacity during the procedure is similar to the current Onyx formulation (and better than expected)”. Features and benefits of the new formulation of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system

    • Less tantalum compared to the current version of Onyx™ liquid embolic system o Clinical Benefit: Less streak artifacts on CT while maintaining good visibility during inject (Ref 2)

    • 6 ml vial o Ease of Use: 90% of all endoleaks type I and II can be treated with a 6 ml vial / pre fix pack on shelf

    • New packaging

        • Allows for distinguishing Peripheral vascular Onyx™ and Neurovascular Onyx™ from each other in the hospitals

    • The new packaging is made of 95% paper

        • More environmentally friendly packaging than the current packaging we have for Onyx

    • New packaging with a 6 ml vial

        • Reducing the inventory storage space by 75% compared to 4 vials of Onyx™ 1,5 ml on the shelf

    • New IFU

        • This IFU is dedicated for Peripheral vascular indication

A special thanks to our team leader for this project Christopher Buder and the R&D department in Boston as well as the R&D department and regulatory department in Irvine CA.

Ref 1: CT artifact Validation in vitro using a water phantom tank to simulate body tissue and synthetic vessel Document TR_NV 11300 RevA 2013-08-20

Ref 2: Design Validation, TR-NV10922 Visibility validation study Onyx™ 34L liquid embolic system. “New formulation of Onyx™ 34 liquid embolic system with less tantalum”

Author: Mikael Färelid Marketing Manager Peripheral Embolization EMEA

July is an exciting month for all Given Imaging employees, in Hamburg and Paris (Maisons-Laffitte), as they undertake final preparation to integrate into Covidien systems and policies (such as HCP and T&E, etc.) on August 1. Much work has already been completed since March when the company was formally acquired, working closely and collaboratively with Given Imaging leaders and staff members, with kick-off meetings, vision, culture and team-building events, change and career workshops as well as a philanthropic event in Italy that recently featured on our Pulse site.

PillCam® capsule endoscopy system is the primary technology of Given Imaging that provides amazing visualization of the GI tract to trained Physicians and Gastro-Intestinal Surgeons for enhanced diagnoses of small bowel and Colon disorders. Additionally reflux monitoring and manometry products are offered and when combined with innovative technologies acquired through Barrx and Beacon forms the basis for a very exciting new high growth business franchise to Covidien Europe – GI Solutions operating under the Early Technologies division led by Bronwyn Brophy (VP Sales & Marketing). Highlights of the preparatory integration work has been the Getting Together Team meeting in late March followed by the GI Solutions team kick off meeting in Italy at the end of May.

The integration team continue to work very closely with Given colleagues and recently there has been a successful conclusion by having PillCam® reimbursement approved by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians for office-based GI’s in Germany. This development is fantastic for the potential in the European marketplace and well done to all involved!

Over the coming weeks significant training activity will commence on Covidien business systems as final preparations are made for Go-Live. All this activity ongoing while impressive sales levels are being achieved! Well done to all in Given Imaging and the Project Team members supporting this key activity for Covidien Europe.

Given Imaging has 50 employees based from the Hamburg office and 24 employees based from Paris.

More to come after Go-Live on August 1!

Author: Robert O'Brien

It is with great enthusiasm and excitement the Sales Training Team present to you the New Covidien Training Centre in IRCAD.

During the last months we have created and relocated sales training to a brand new classroom and clinical training facility in what will become the “IRCAD 2” building, next door to the IRCAD training center in Strasbourg (one of the most important training center in the world : more than 4000 surgeons trained every year).

This Covidien/IRCAD shared facility offers the Covidien Sales and Marketing Organisation:

    • Flexible classroom set up for up to 60 students

    • Catering and balcony break out areas

    • 12 station surgical & endoscopic tissue workshop lab

    • 2 bed “ICU” Respiratory, Monitoring and Medical Supplies demonstration area

    • Covidien Hot Desk Office space and conference room

Click the link for a virtual tour by our Director of Training Operations - Xavier Voilquin (look for the white circles to navigate around) http://www.ircad.fr/covidien/

More importantly relocation of training activity allows us to partner with the faculty of IRCAD, Strasbourg Hospital and the new IHU ""Institute of Image-Guided Minimally Invasive Hybrid Surgery"" giving access to state of the art patient treatment techniques and world class key opinion leaders (see http://www.ircad.fr/).

The opening of the ""New IRCAD Covidien Training Center"" represents a major milestone in the private-public partnership, to which the IRCAD Institute contributed as one of the ambassadors within Strasbourg's University Hospital. The close relationship between the Covidien Center and the IRCAD Institute in the fields of research and training will not only allow future Covidien employees to experience the ""real life"" of a surgeon, but it will also make it easier for IRCAD researchers to approach industrials. This single geographical setting is essential to the progress we all wish to make to ultimately achieve optimal patient care. A warm and friendly welcome to all, Yours faithfully, Professor Jacques Marescaux, MD, FACS, Hon. FRCS, Hon. FJSES President of the IRCAD Chairman, Strasbourg’s Institute of Image-Guided Surgery (IHU Strasbourg).

Each division within Covidien has its own goals and objectives to integrate and evolve training together with our partners with the overall direction of linking closer to our customers to better prepare our new sales team members to deliver value. More will follow from each training manager or please reach out to them directly to understand how this will look for your division.

We will also partner more closely with the Medical Affairs team and Fiona Morrison as Senior Director Medical Consultancy Services who will lead communication and interaction between Covidien and Healthcare Professionals at IRCAD for anything that is not sales training.

We are already delivering training here and so far Surgical Solutions, GI Solutions, Respiratory & Monitoring Solutions, Medical Supplies & Peripheral Vascular business units have either had or are about to start their first New Hire Training event. The feedback from participants so far describes a community spirit, visibility to Healthcare Professionals, fantastic facilities and as appreciating the proximity of all hotels, restaurant & training centre in easy walking distance of Strasbourg town centre.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you in Strasbourg

Author: Andrew Cox & Sales Training and Development Team

A New European FLSM Training Programme!

True or False: There is a significant positive correlation between the extent of sales manager training and the percentage of their sales people who meet their sales quota? According to the Association for Talent Development the answer is true, however, 22% of sales organisations fail to train their sales managers!

Happily, One Covidien Europe understands the big picture business issues facing our sales teams. In fact, the increasing complexity in the sales environment is so well recognised by Covidien Europe that it formed the Commercial Excellence training team to identify and work with the smaller picture detail behind the challenges of our sales leaders.

The desired state is a world class leadership training programme for our first line sales managers (FLSM) that ensures there will be no neglected talent… and to make it a top priority!

For more than a century many companies believed they could simply promote high performing sales people into sales management and expect success without any real training. We know this process is flawed! Historically, people leaders within our sales organisation have had access to training and development via the ASCEND training programme in Europe but our research showed it had limited focus and may not have been addressing the new skills required by everyone.

To fully understand the current challenges we face we created and facilitated a workshop for our business leaders that was designed to draw out a diagnosis and prioritising of the key issues, skills and knowledge required by FLSMs in our changing internal and external workplace. Our stakeholders were then tasked with mapping out the assets needed and defining how we track the return on this training investment.

We found wide agreement, confirmed by data, on various functional issues or ‘learning objectives’. Three frequent drivers of leadership development were identified and utilised as common core curriculum groups for this future training programme: Commercial, People, Resources.

If you are a people leader in the sales organisation you will have been invited to validate and comment on this proposed core curriculum and its associated learning objectives via a survey. At the time of writing we are collating the feedback. When we can prove that the training plan aligns to Covidien strategy and its business needs we will begin the design and build with an eye on an October 2014 launch.

We know that sales management is not as simple as we want it to be and it’s not as complex as it's made out to be. It's somewhere in between, and we aim to cut through the noise to help our FLSMs understand exactly what they must do to succeed.

Author: Paul Hawksworth, Training Manager, Europe

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to share with you today our One Covidien newsletter in which we aim to illustrate our new customer approach through three main stories: Single One Covidien Contract :

One Covidien actors: Full SPS Team, Legal Department, Market Department (S. NIVAUX) We intended to highlight the collaboration of three major departments in our organization (Legal Department, Market Department, SPS team) To point out our One Covidien approach, it was mandatory to align our methodology to set up a single One Covidien Contract. Since each BU used its own specific procedure, our task was more challenging and we had to develop a new approach. The first step was to clearly identify and understand all the discount policies commonly used by the BUs (41 different cases). The second step was to select with consistency something that would be more appropriate and relevant for a one covidien development (10 commercial terms had been selected). The legal department closely works with external lawyers to validate wording and content. We are currently in an assessment milestone and we decided to target different specific accounts: A national GPO (Medi-partenaires) An independant public hospital (Hospices Civils de Lyon) An independant private hospital (Centre Jean Perrin localize à Clermont-Ferrand) As a next step: validate the efficiency in each case and we expect to communicate all the guidelines to the middle management at the FY15 beginning.

Générale De Santé: How has a customized approach brought up to the top?

One Covidien actors: Xavier Cesaro, Emmanuel Grenon, Guillaume Prorel, Thomas Sander Following the first deployment an innovative project with GDS with their logistic platform (Districare) we came to the decision to enhance the partnership between our two organizations. Within our new SPS organization, focused on the customer’s unmet needs, we have carefully studied the strategic directions our customer has chosen. We then organized a meeting with the GDS head of purchasing in order to discuss and exchange strategic guidelines that GDS and Covidien would like to pursue together. Our clear objective was to reach the C-suite level with the help of specific customized approach using new communication tools. This meeting was definitely a success. We are able to demonstrate we are developing high level solutions to bring their organization closer to achieving their goals. Two major initiatives were launched:

    • Ambulatory Surgery Development (providing customized analysis on GDS ambulatory activities via support of external company for data analysis) (photo prezi) compared to national ambulatory rate. Final goal : come up with appropriate initiatives to reach 70% of Ambulatory Rate

    • Debate around innovation and clinical research by using Directors from R&D Center of Trevoux and the GDS Innovation Director to find common development directions.

Francheville Clinic: How is Covidien helping to recruit digestive surgeons to develop a Bariatric Department ?

One Covidien actors : Alexandre Paute (SPS Manager), Stéphane Quequet (AST RSM), Etienne Bruneau (GSP RSM), Thomas Sander (SPS Internal Consultant) The Francheville hospital has been trying for several months to recruit digestive surgeons, but to no avail. The hospital director solicited Covidien for help them in this procedure. Then the SPS team and some RSM are organizing a Francheville Day to promote this hospital with a Covidien Bariatric booth and communication supports. The added value of this Covidien initiative is particularly appreciated by the hospital director who is ready to recommend our proactivity in terms of partnership support to Santé Cité, a powerful hospitals network. A success will allow us to duplicate this initiative with other hospitals. Best, All French SPS team

Author: Xavier Cesaro (SPS Director France) and Thomas Sander (SPS Internal Consultant)

The Strategic Partnership Solutions team in Italy works closely with the BU partners to develop Projects in order to enhance Covidien’s position as “Solution Partner” in front of our Customers. All the members in the Project team led by Andrea Scotti, work together to anticipate the Italian Market trends, so we can continue to:

“Deliver unmatched value to our customers by providing innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes, lower the cost of healthcare delivery and expand global access to care”.

The Spending Review challenges can find responses in our projects, that’s why we have to continue to promote our Solutions in the best way available. Laws and regulations are changing quickly and the macro scenario will be different in the near future, so we have to move in advance and anticipate trends. The healthcare austerity measures under discussion through the linear cuts, may have a dangerous impact for the entire system and the Patients.

Recently, to raise attention to this, we have co-organized an event in the Italian Senate, involving Members of National Parliament on Innovation. The healthcare macro-scenario was presented by a representative of The European House Ambrosetti and the possible solutions available was presented by Andrea Scotti, SPS Director Italy. One of the key messages underscored was the importance of the introduction of innovative solutions to secure the sustainability of the healthcare system without reducing the level of quality for patients. Savings can be implemented through introduction of new technologies, avoiding the linear cuts. Some specific Solutions we are promoting in conjunction with the Bus, that have huge social and economic impact, like Stroke, Obesity, Chronic Venous Insufficiency, was presented during the event as possible solutions and the feedback was very positive. All the National KDM involved in the roundtable shared Covidien’s vision on the future healthcare system, meaning that savings could be done by introducing innovation and technology.

In addition, we also promote our Solutions at a Regional level, as healthcare budget is managed locally and represents 80% of the total Regional Budget. We had several meetings with various Regional KDM promoting our solutions to improve quality and obtain long lasting savings. From our 11 Projects, below a couple of examples on how we directly can make the different for the Patient:

    • Patients’ Outcome

    • Stroke is very topical issue, as it is the second biggest cause of death in Italy and the first cause of invalidity. Although treatment options are available, only 1,8% of patients in Italy can access this treatment, despite this figure reaching 20–25% in the best international practice. In Italy, it is not a question of expensive products, but simply a matter of organization. Treatment cannot be denied to Patients due to excessive bureaucracy, that’s why we have analyzed the matter and come up with practical solutions based on the best international organizational practice that could be implemented.

    • Strategy Consulting

    • the proposal is to expand the usage of Pills Cam for colonoscopy analysis instead of traditional one, funding with Private Funds (self-payer). The PillCam Colonoscopy could be introduced in the public health system in the “Early Diagnosis Plan”, so that the Patients may have the opportunity to choose the preferred approach.

All this can be done only by Covidien due to the unicity of its innovative products.

The Core team created to enhance and promote the Projects Portfolio, is made by BU representatives and SPS Managers. The cross-functionality represented here is a key to success! The value added comes from various resources with different experience and background. For me, taking part to this new way to work represents an invaluable opportunity. Collaboration and teamwork, driven by a clear Vision keep me and the team highly motivated and engaged to continue to focus on the success of our winning projects!

We will continue to promote our innovative Solutions in front of our Customers, for the improvement of Patients’ Outcome and will reinforce the teamwork fundamentals to bring forward with energy our Mission.

Innovative Solutions, successful Partnerships and People inspired are good ingredients for Covidien to be Unique!

Author: Iuliana Ion, Special Projects Specialist, Strategic Partnership Solutions, Italy

Motivate – Guide – Recognize – Listen – Discuss – Coach these are just some of the important activities managers must incorporate into their professional responsibilities.

The Company relies on our managers to show employees how the work they do impacts our Company vision, goals and initiatives. Managers motivate and inspire teams and they help individuals to reach their own highest potential. The fact is managers play a central and critical role in our business’s ability to deliver on Covidien’s strategy.

With this in mind, the Company has invested more in talent development particularly with the launch of Covidien’s new manager development program, Accelerate .

Leading the roll-out of this program for Europe, Andrea McEvoy, Director Talent Development, said “Accelerate is an interactive development experience designed to help managers build and strengthen critical management skills and lead teams to higher levels of performance, by helping managers to further develop the skills they need to be effective and confident leaders.”

Supported by a group of trained facilitators from within the business, the program, which is primarily aimed at first line to mid-level managers - especially those new to a leadership role – who are responsible for managing others, launched in May 2014.

As part of this first Session, managers from different parts of the business across Europe participated in the first 3 days of the 6 day program and reported outstanding feedback.

Dr Sandro Dessardo, Medical Director Internal Medicine and Intensive Care, said of his experience “Thanks a lot for a wonderful experience. It was really great to share ideas, exchange thoughts and experiences, and have a lot of fun together. An exciting professional and personal experience, congratulations to the organizers. Looking forward to see you in Session II.” Sandro also told us that the most important learning he took from the session was about self-awareness and that “…knowing and understanding yourself is essential to know and understand your team”.

Further feedback from Lara Bolognesi, Financial Controller Italy commented “Today I had the chance to talk briefly with my employee about the training sessions you led in Whiteley and I was impressed about his feedback, both in terms of contents and networking received”. She continued to say “I really think this kind of training is a great opportunity for people in our organization because they could really improve the motivation and the sense of belonging to our Company. Thanks again for the opportunity offered to one of the talent I have in my team”.

Feedback from within the HR community was also positive. Philipp Mathys, Country HR Director and HR Business Partner, said “…just a quick note to confirm the very, very positive feedback I heard from several participants. Excellent job, well done and thanks a lot”.

Further programs are already in place for this fiscal year, with the next two cohorts at the end of July and early October already full.

If you feel you would benefit from hands-on development to help you become a stronger leader, please discuss with your line manager in the first instance and contact Andrea McEvoy, Director Talent Development Europe for further details.

Author: Andrea McEvoy, Director Talent Development Europe

The MANAGER'S RESOURCE page on Pulse has recently been redesigned to help make it easier for managers to find information about the programs, tools and resources they need to help attract, engage, and develop the employees Covidien needs to succeed. Visit the site today!

Now organized by the talent management life cycle, Manager's Resources includes the tools and information a manager needs every step of the way.

HIRING & ONBOARDING : Attracting the best talent with the right skills and experience is at the heart of Covidien’s Talent Management Strategy. Access the Hiring People Toolkit for all of the resources and tools you need to source, recruit and bring onboard the right candidates.

DEVELOPING TALENT : Career growth and development is a shared responsibility between you and your employees. Access a variety of career planning tools and resources for your employees, including information on Performance Management, Succession Planning (TLR), Individual Development Planning, Career Planning Resources (currently being translated into several languages), and more. These tools become particularly important in periods of change.

REWARDING PERFORMANCE : Part of your role as a manager is differentiating rewards based on performance. Access the tools you need for rewarding your employees’ performance, including Compensation Guidelines, Incentive Plans, and Manager Talking Points.

We invite you to (re)discover the wealth of information put at the reach of your fingertips and to use them to continue attracting, engaging and developing the people that work with and for you.

Feel free to contact local human resources or the undersigned for further information.

Author: Ramón Fretz, Director Global Talent and Leadership Development, Corporate Human Resources

From June 25th to June 27th Paris hosted the World congress of European Association of Endoscopic Surgery, EAES. There were over 2000 attendees and lots of interest in the Scientific Sessions During the Congress Covidien organized a Satellite Symposium : Procedural and product innovations to improve patient outcomes Chairman: Professor Masahiko Watanabe, Japan New approaches in colorectal surgery: The different approaches in trans-anal techniques Professor Joël Jules Louis Leroy, France Modern Tools for the Safe Performance of Laparoscopic Surgery Prof. Dr. MD Peter Schemmer, Germany Individualized titration of anesthesia and improved recovery in colorectal surgery Mr. Stefan Schraag, UK Efficacy and durability of radio-frequency ablation: impact on treatment of Barrett’s Esophagus Dr. Gabriel Rahmi, France

From Right to Left Prof Schraag, Prof Watanabe, prof J. Leroy, dr Rahmi and Dr Schemmer

The presentations spanned from new procedures in Colorectal Surgery to the treatment of Barrett’s Esophagus using radio-frequency. For the first time an Anesthesiologist presented to Surgeons how the control of the Anesthesia can be key to Fast Track Surgery and Early Recovery after Surgery ERAS. These 2 points are becoming increasingly important when discussing surgical outcomes and patient reaction to procedures. The BIS™ Bispectral Index Brain Monitoring System allows for customization of anesthesia based on patient response to medication, a unique concept that was a focus of surgeons’ interest. Over 190 attendees attended the full symposium and we received compliments for the quality of the presentations and the broad spectrum of scientific discussions.

This confirms one of the key benefits of the OneCovidien approach : one key supplier to the full healthcare organization for improved patient care.

Author: Eligio Floscoli

Dear all The world’s biggest thoracic meeting ESTS (European Society of Thoracic Surgeons) took place in Copenhagen June 15-18 and it was a big success. More than 1200 Thoracic Surgeons participated with great enthusiasm. For this meeting we had finalized the world’s first complete VATS procedural DVD made together with Dr Henrik Hansen and Dr René Petersen from Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen. The DVD’s was shared among the thoracic surgeons at the congress and it was highly appreciated.

Our techno meeting and lunch symposium was visited by more than 425 surgeons. The feedback from it was excellent and the topics were reflecting what is in current focus for thoracic surgeon today. Some key takeaways from the lectures.

    • LVRS: Prof Walter Weder from Zurich made it very clear that COPD patients can have a huge benefit from LVRS –Lung Volume Reduction Surgery. LVRS improves long term survival, improved lung function and increased quality of life. He also mentioned since he started using Tri-Staple he experienced less need for tissue reinforcement as TRI staple performs so extremely well! The patient volume is enormous that’s suitable for LVRS surgery, around +1.5 million patients. With our support of driving this procedure forward Prof Weder is confident that LVRS within a few years will be a standard treatment. In the auditorium 65% raised their hands when the question was asked, how many believes in benefits performing LVRS. The trend for LVRS is clearly is changing and we as a major driver for LVRS will benefit enormously from it. LVRS will potentially be the biggest procedural revenue maker in the history of Covidien! The procedural LVRS development to be continued and updates to be communicated as this is truly a very exciting opportunity!

    • Super Dimension: Dr Gaetano Rocco from Naples talked about the benefits of Super Dimension- Electro magnetic navigation in the multidisciplinary management of lung cancer which resulted in a huge impact at our Super Dimension booth after the lecture. This is technology is truly a great opportunity for us as a company to optimize treatments and diagnosis for patients with suspected lung cancer.

We also covered topics like VATS Segmentectomies, Uniportal VATS for Pneumothorax Treatment and talks from Dr Hansen about experiences about their first 1500 VATS lobectomies at Rigshospitalet. We had an excellent booth at ESTS displaying products like TRI staple, Power, Ligasure, Permacol, Veriset and the electronic CDU ( Sentinel Seal Portable Chest Drainage Unit). Super Dimension had a separate booth due to booth area restrictions and they were very busy after Dr Roccos talk about the technology. Next year’s ESTS congress will take place in Lisbon 31st May – 3 June and will be supported by the Spanish/Portuguese team. For this congress we will have one big Covidien booth and another awesome congress. Looking forward in seeing you there.

A special thanks to Isabelle Fafournoux who arranged an excellent congress and to Peter Simonsen Nordic PM AST in charge of booth manning and the local logistics and support.

Wish you all a great well-deserved vacation and thanks for all your dedication and hard work!

Author: Matz Fredriksson / Procedural Director EMEA-Thoracic

Information and continued physician education are fundamental in medical devices and medical supplies technologies. Raising awareness and educating physicians can help and make the difference in disease management and prevention.

Health Economic Environment & Covidien

The healthcare industry is characterized by continuous technological change, economic environmental and more aggressive competitors. In our culture, Covidien is helping to deliver important educational messages through our internal training teams, sales forces and at congresses.

Business Partner

At Covidien EU Marketing Operations, the Congress and Events team’s ambition is to be a true and valuable business partner. Our model focuses on covering all aspects of the congress and events organization to ensure complete success and to set objectives in full compliance with internal and external rules. This is not just logistic! With support of Marketing Operation team, we will provide innovative solutions to product communication channels (e-marketing, @solutions etc…) keeping reasonable cost control, full compliance. Discover the One Covidien 2015 Congress Calendar:

Your Congress Team: Martial Gléron – Congress Manager, Isabelle Fafournoux – Congress Coordinator, Roberta Gallinelli - Congress Coordinator, Violeta Djurdjevic - Congress Coordinator

Author: Martial Gléron

Early June the new Demand Gen Campaign for the iDrive™ Ultra powered stapling system has been launched and already shows first impact.

The goal of this Demand Gen Campaign is to raise awareness on the iDrive™ Ultra powered stapling platform targeting mainly thoracic and bariatric surgeons. In a 6-email communication string we interact with our customers by introducing them to experience papers, share best practice with them, and get their feedback through a short questionnaire. Of course our customers also have the opportunity to request a rep visit in each email to get in contact with us.

Campaign Performance as of now:

    • 6-email string campaign including campaign subscription

    • Sent to about 4000 thoracic and bariatric surgeons

    • Already 54 subscribed customers, which makes a great conversion rate of 1.1%

    • 2 direct rep requests generated

The campaign is still running and will remain active for additional interested customers to join. In case you know somebody who should receive our latest information on the iDrive™ Ultra powered stapling system follow this link http://solutions.covidien.eu/LP=1000 and add the customer to the campaign by completing the form with the customers data and submit. You can also forward the link to interested customers for that they can subscribe themselves to the campaign.

Author: Hape Schielly

The MarComm team is part of the Marketing Operations department managed by Sean Dycus, reporting to Stuart Morton - Market Development, One Covidien Europe. Managed by Angelique Pruniaux and Alison Eastman, MarComm Europe provides a service to Central European marketing to ensure successful and efficient planning, execution, review, and distribution of advertising, promotion and campaign assets for Covidien Europe.

The MarComm team are at the forefront of One Covidien project management and support, using the Orbis system to manage approximately 1500 projects per year. YTD 745 activities have been completed/ approved. 205 activities are currently in development and 131 activities are pending. The team also consists of 3 Project managers: Claire Thorndyke, Corrine Navarro and Terry Valentine, plus Silvie Müllerova – Marketing assistant, who support the business and manage MarComm projects across the entire portfolio.

The MarComm team recently underwent advanced brand training and are now managing brand reviews for all new European collateral. The team has currently carried out 76 brand reviews and there are 78 in progress or pending.

MarComm and Creative services are expanding their remit. The creative services team headed by Melania Semerad-Meier now have 3 in-house graphic designers. MarComm has a Copy Writer joining the team mid-August. This will enable us to produce more material in-house, creating new content and messaging ourselves.

Some examples of recent projects: The Clearify™ Visualization System, launched by Kashif Ikram, Director GSP Mktg, in Q3 FY14. Marcomm and creative services reviewed and amended the launch content to meet EU requirements. “We would especially like to thank MarComm, for their help in processing these new Clearify™ Visualization System collaterals rapidly though the approval process. This was a real value added service!”. Kashif Ikram Director, EU Marketing General Surgical Products.

MarComm worked with EU Marketing to release both technical and marketing focused collaterals for the Puritan BennettTM 980 ventilator system such as the Sales Presentation which helps the sales rep explain the product. EU Marcomm management of PB980 project

    • 146 assets (brochures, videos, translations, etc)

    • 325 tasks

    • 6 task owners

    • 3 months duration

“Marcomm has been an essential function to the successful launch of the PB980 in Europe, due to their relentless commitment, pro-activeness and professionalism.” - Tony Caenen, Director of Marketing, Medical Care Solutions

Author: Alison Eastman

More than 2000 valued smaller customers have now been informed of the launch of Covidien Europe’s Inside Sales team, based in Cherrywood, Ireland. Since the launch, the team have been busy with calls to our customers, and the feedback received to date has been very positive, our customers clearly seeing the value in having access to helpful and knowledgeable representative over the phone.

We have also been busy contacting the local sales teams to ensure there is a seamless transfer of information and to build the collaboration with their Inside Sales colleagues to deliver clinically relevant and economically viable solutions to our customers. The objective is to enable our colleagues in the field to focus on their higher value accounts, and their help and support has been of enormous benefit on the first steps of our exciting journey.

Cristiano Franzi visited the Inside Sales team at the Cherrywood facility, and shared his vision of the benefit that Inside Sales Europe can deliver to both our colleagues and customers, and this was hugely motivating to the team. Our colleagues from Inside Sales US have also joined us through video conference, to pass on hints and tips from this already established team. Several other senior managers from the European team have already visited the Inside Sales organisation, to share perspectives and help identify areas opportunities for collaboration.

So far, 10 Inside Sales reps have completed basic training, covering hernia solutions, sutures, stapling, urology, sharp safety, OR and compression. The team still has a lot to learn, and over the month of July we will be taking part in the Extended Hernia Leadership meeting and respiratory training, as well as in-country alignment meeting with sales and marketing.

Earl Wilson once said “Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.” So grab your tea or coffee and meet our Inside Sales Europe team:

How would you describe a typical day in the Inside Sales role in Covidien? Romain : “At the moment we are working on understanding our markets.” Lorenzo: “We are in contact with different departments within Covidien and of course our customers.” Bela: “It is mostly about gaining knowledge about our customers, colleagues and processes, the identification of our competitors and their products and strategies. Getting the tools that will help us not only now but in the future as well.” Angela: “Building relationships with customers and our colleagues and uploading all information to SFDC.”

How do you feel about being part of the Covidien Inside Sales team? Juan: “I am happy being a part of such a great team.” Pierre: “It feels very good to have an opportunity to be a part of this exciting new department.” Francesco: “I am very proud to be part of this new department. We have power and determination to grow as individuals and as well as team.” Bela: “It’s a great feeling as the advice, support and the innovative solutions we offer to our customers enhance the quality of life of their patient.”

What was your first impression of Covidien Inside Sales team? Zara: “I thought this would be a new, exciting challenge personally and an excellent chance to develop my career in an area that I am very interested in.” Lorenzo: “Our manager was very clear about the job that has to be done.” Emma: “My first impression was that we shared a genuine interest in success, eager to learn and contagious atmosphere of action and teamwork.” Angela: “I really like the challenging nature of this position. It’s a great motivator.”

What do you find most challenging about your day-to-day job? Charlotte: “The large volume of the product knowledge that is required.” Pierre: “For me it’s to agree on processes and to align our strategy with in-country departments due to each market’s specificities such as buying groups and private sector.” Emma: “Catching the right person at the right time.”

What do you like the most about your role/ team? Lorenzo: “Working in such a diverse multicultural environment.” Romain: “Being a part of newly launched department in Covidien is exciting on its own, but the great reputation and image of the company makes our job easier and our targets reachable and realistic.” Charlotte: “Opportunity to give our customers the best solutions and service they deserve.”

Juan: “It’s a wonderful opportunity where people can grow and learn about Covidien product portfolio.”

What do you wish other people knew about Covidien Inside Sales team? Zara: “The amount of energy, determination and passion all the team members have to excel and make this division of Covidien a success.” Romain: ”I would like them to see us as added value that will be very beneficial for our customers and our business.” Charlotte: “We are very innovative service and our goal is to enhance customer satisfaction and build on the positive image of Covidien.” Francesco: “Working remotely we can really add the value to our customers and in-country colleagues.” Emma: “That we are dedicated to making this venture a success.”

Do you have an example of how you’ve helped your customer? Emma: “One of my customers is undertaking an exercise to rationalise supply of sutures so she was very happy when I contacted her to introduce myself. With a help from my colleagues I offered her a solution for the Clinical Management Team to assess and we are now waiting for the outcome.”

Pierre:” I rang one of my customers who asked me to send them an offer for some of the products that were not on their current tender. With the help of the pricing department in France I was able to send a quotation and some information on these products. The customer really appreciated the reactivity of the service and placed his order.”

What feedback are you getting from your customers about your role? Pierre: “Customers are happy and feel they are listened to as we are their one point of contact for Surgical and MCS portfolios.” Zara: “Especially smaller customers in more remote areas of my territory are very happy with having one point of contact in Covidien.” Romain: ””Nice”, “Interesting” and “Great” are the words coming up the most. We’ve had very good feedback so far. It’s up to us now to carry on and build strong relationship based on this positivity.”

Angela: “The majority of the customers are receptive and enthusiastic about the new services that Covidien offers them.”

Author: Aileen O'Sullivan

With a rush of glowing media attention, the world’s first two hospitals – Hospital Kralovske Vinohrady in Prague and Hospital Prerov in the Czech Republic – have each received highly prestigious certifications as Centers of Excellence in Hernia Surgery (COE) by the Surgical Review Cooperation (SRC). COE certification ensures safer, more effective, and more cost effective surgery by formalizing best practices for hernia surgery and gathering key clinical data to create a global hernia patient outcomes database.

The honor of becoming world’s first CEO hospitals certified in Hernia surgery is due to the extremely professional and dedicated Covidien team in Czech. Lars Alling, Procedural Marketing Director, Surgical Solutions, EMEA EM, offers his gratitude for all the hard work: “A special thanks goes to Sarka Komendova, Lenka Hradcova, and Ondrej Trdlica for their dedication and hard work making this launch possible.” History of the COE Program The SRC is an independent, non-profit patient safety organization that has certified hundreds of hospitals in 30 countries worldwide as COEs for Bariatric Surgery and Minimally Invasive GYN surgery. Their online patient outcomes database now holds more than half a million patients and has shown beyond a doubt that bariatric surgery is very safe and effective if performed using best practices and when cases are registered in a central outcomes database that allows for continuous measurement and improvement of surgical outcomes.

Success in the fields of Bariatric Surgery and Minimally Invasive GYN has encouraged a new focus on hernia surgery.

“And this,” Lars explains, “is where we come in as strategic partners with the SRC. By Covidien proactively driving the expansion of the COE concept, it’s clear to the surrounding community that we are on the forefront of healthcare innovation and are taking patient care to the next level.” Why Focus on Hernia Surgery? Hernia surgery is a specialty that requires a high level of expertise in order to provide good clinical outcomes for the patient and to avoid chronic pain and recurrences of the hernias – and the need is growing.

In Czech Republic alone, there are more than 30,000 hernia procedures performed annually, and across the EMEA EM region, the annual caseload is more than 2,000,000 hernia procedures at a cost of more than $20 billion to the healthcare systems. These numbers are growing by approximately 7.5% per annum due to people living longer, more frequently surviving radical surgical procedures, use of tobacco and immunosuppressant drugs, and the raging obesity epidemic. Where We are Going From Here? The support of the SRC’s COE program for hernia care will be invaluable to all stakeholders involved. Standardizing a hernia surgical program will lead to improved patient outcomes, reduction in surgeon stress and professional liability, an increase in surgical volumes, and – through hard data from the central patient outcomes database, the ability to prove justifiable changes in reimbursement.

“Currently COE programs are available in the EMEA EM region for Bariatric Surgery, thanks to Diaa Behairy and Saudi team, and now for Hernia Surgery, thanks to Sarka Komendova and Czech team,” Lars says. “And because of the work of Remon Refaat from the Gulf team hospitals in UAE and Qatar, they will also soon be introduced to this successful concept.” Overall Outcomes Exact outcomes in USD are yet to be tracked, measured and calculated. Both are large hospitals with multiple departments, hence tracking USD to this specific project is challenging and requires some manual work. However, the direct outcomes we have heard from the hospitals and measured via the media surveillance are as follows:

    • 3,6 million people in Czech republic read, heard or saw news on COE-HS world premiere. This is more than 35% of the total population.

    • Following directly the press conference and with increasing media coverage the telephones at the two certified hospitals have not stopped ringing with patients wanting consultations for their hernias

    • Hospital waiting lists for Hernia patients have increased from 1 to 3 weeks.

    • Increase in patients receiving hernia operations at both hospitals increased by 20% in first month after certification. This equals approximately incremental 40 patients in first month only.

    • Expected positive return on investment to be achieved after 3 months.

    • Finally a 3rd Czech hospital has contacted Covidien to understand how to become certified.

Apart from achieving whole new levels of loyalty from the newly certified hospitals, incremental revenue from the significant increase in procedural volume, we have also received commitment from both hospitals to adopt a broader range of Covidien's product portfolio to further enhance clinical outcomes for the patients.

Author: László Kiss

In May, the International Conference of the Russian School of Colorectal Surgery went into its eighth year. It was organized by the Department of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Surgery, Russian National Center of Surgery n.a. I.M. Sechenov, under the lead of Russia's top colorectal surgeon, Professor Tsarkov, MD, Prof., Head of Department of Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Surgery, Russian National Center of Surgery named after academician B.V. Petrovsky, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

The congress is aimed at colorectal surgeons from Russia and the CIS countries, and attendance with over 1000 participants has increased significantly since its start eight years ago. Covidien’s attendance was marked by several highlights. On the first day of the congress, the team lead by Natasa Zirovnik organized a roundtable with eight surgeons to discuss colorectal surgery involving low-anterior-resection. Ned Cosgriff presented clinical data, and Lobat Hashemi presented health economic data. Natasa was very pleased with the feedback of the roundtable, stating that the surgeons had agreed to start a possible data-collection project. More news to come in the near future

Then, over the course of the next two days, live surgeries with the new Ligasure Maryland, Sonicision™ , Tri-stapler, and new Permacol™ paste took place. As noted with a smile by the congress organizer, Prof. Tsarkov, Covidien products dominated in eight out of nine surgeries. The remaining ten percent came from J&J.

On Thursday, two top US Chief Medical Officers met for the first time in history on Russian ground for a head to head debate on Ligasure™ versus Harmonic. The two contestants were Dr. Ned Cosgriff, VP Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer, EMEA representing Covidien, and Dr. Joe Amaral, CMO, representing Ethicon. The room – with no seats - was completely filled up with the 600 people that keenly followed the presentations and heated debate of the two champions. Dr. Cosgriff defended Ligasure™ by presenting the long legacy of innovation, as well as the 15 year Ligasure™ anniversary. In closing, both Ned and Joe were perfect gentlemen and closed the session by agreeing that both Vessel Sealing and Ultrasonic technology both have their place in the operating theater.

As Russia’s leading colorectal surgeon, Prof. Tsarkov, stated: “The session with Dr. Cosgriff is our first and rather successful step to promote rationale usage of energy and high technologies in colorectal surgery".

On the last day, the team organized a “15 Years Ligasure™ Symposium”. Prof. Kravchenko presented the highlights of live surgeries with the new Ligasure Maryland, followed by a culinary celebration with cupcakes.

The Russian EbD-EMID-&STI team did an outstanding job, and it was well recognized by Professor Tsarkov who said that “this all would not have been possible without your enormous help and support.”

In summary, this congress was a great success for Covidien in Russia, and not only have we seen for the first time in our region the power of a good Chief Medical Officers in action, we have also successfully used the congress as a platform to launch the new Ligasure Maryland and Permacol™ Paste.

Author: László Kiss

The Phoenix Program is an EIS initiative to improve systems availability for our Customer Care organization. The program is sponsored by Stephen Smith, VP of EMEA IS with Evelien De Boer representing the business, Steve Latham acting as IS owner and additional support from Paul McAvoy, VP IS Infrastructure and Michelle Hoare, Director Computer Services. The program will be managed by Jonathan Camp, a consultant working for EIS. The program will deliver:

    • Systems monitoring across customer care systems to enable IS to minimize downtime/maximize availability

    • A test system for the VISION warehouse management system in Opglabbeek to minimize the number of software bugs making it into the production system

    • Migration of Customer Master File to a newer platform with better capabilities and the implementation of changes to the system to improve productivity and internal compliance

    • Updated contact centre server hardware to maintain ongoing supplier warranty support

The Program is now entering its execution stage and the first project, the migration of the Customer Master File, is off and running with the implementation of the VISION test system close behind. Over the next few weeks we will be kicking off the planning of the systems monitoring project followed by the Cherrywood hardware replacement project. The Phoenix program will run alongside project Rad1ate and helps to support Rad1ate’s goals. If you would like further information please contact Jonathan Camp (jonathan.camp@covidien.com) or one of the Steering Committee members identified above.

Author: Stephen Smith