Alcoitão’s Rehabilitation Medicine Center (Centro de Medicina de Reabilitação de Alcoitão - CMRA) is the largest and most prestigious healthcare rehabilitation center in Portugal, and was the country’s only inpatient rehabilitation facility for decades. The recent rise of post-acute care units throughout the country led CMRA to turn to Siemens Healthcare to overcome the sudden challenges to its leading market position.
The center has already begun implementing the recommendations from Siemens and revising its infrastructure in order to improve operational efficiency and make for a better patient experience. It is also renewing its information systems infrastructure and investing in process modernization.

The project encompassed the analysis of demand profiles, catchment area dynamics, and market structure. Demand-driven capacity planning and service line optimization were supported by projections under different scenarios. Scenario generation was conducted after the market analysis. This included the establishment of newly opened rehabilitation centers and the opening of additional rehabilitation centers in the near future as well as a financing model, largely based on the nature of CMRA’s relationship with the national healthcare service.

As there was no prior nationwide assessment of the post-acute care markets in Portugal, the Siemens Healthcare Consulting group’s expertise on the rehabilitation market challenges was key for a comprehensive and solid foundation to evaluate strategic options, providing sound and valuable knowledge to the client. The comprehensive recommendations regarding referral and financing, operational efficiency, clinical excellence, and communication strategy resulted in an action plan and timeline. This empowered CMRA to overcome its current challenges, while taking advantage of its strengths as a center of excellence and focusing on expansion opportunities.