HP Introduces New Custom Support Plan for Hospitals' Service Activity; Streamlined Plan Provides Cost Savings and Process Simplification.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 1997--To provide streamlined support solutions to large hospitals, Hewlett-Packard Company today announced a custom support plan that captures all HP services at an organizationwide level under one master agreement.

The new plan can help a hospital reduce costs and simplify the service-delivery process through reduced paperwork, account management and equal billings spread over 12 months. The plan covers service, repairs, parts, upgrades, training, education and consultation for HP medical and computer equipment.

"This plan reduces our paperwork flow substantially," said Haresh S. Satiani, senior vice president of operations at COHR Inc., one of the largest independent medical service organizations in the United States. "The one-call, one-invoice service gives us better internal controls without the time-consuming red tape that often goes with requests for purchase orders, service, training and so on. Our technicians simply call HP's toll-free service support center, refer to one purchase order number, and the service or part requested is charged against the corporate agreement amount."

The custom support plan gives HP customers a 12-month blanket order for services and support. During that time they can order anything they need -- from parts to training -- without having to cut a separate purchase order and check for every transaction.

"Eliminating individual transactions for support services may save a hospital as much as $100 per transaction," said Paul Goldman, general manager of the Americas Customer Services Division within HP's Medical Products Group. "In addition, customers tell us they like the plan because it's straightforward and simple."

In addition to COHR, Inc., several other HP medical customers have signed custom-support-plan agreements, including Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn.; Allina Clinical Equipment Services in Minneapolis/St. Paul; and OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill.

HP offers a wide range of innovative services to help customers plan, implement and operate their healthcare information and clinical systems more efficiently. These services include implementation services for clinical departments, clinical software and solution support, clinical-equipment support, financial- and technology-management services and customer-education programs.

HP's Medical Products Group, with headquarters in Andover, Mass., is a leading provider of clinical measurement and information solutions, and services and support for the healthcare industry, including cardiology, critical care, anesthesiology, obstetrics, neonatology, cardiovascular and radiology imaging, radiology, resuscitation, and home healthcare. The group has 5,300 employees worldwide and had revenues of $1.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, communications and measurement products and services recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 112,000 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year.

Information about HP's medical products and services can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com/go/medical .

CONTACT: HP

Phyllis Laorenza Linnehan, 508/659-2726

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