Sectra earns $353M enterprise imaging contract amid legal challenge

Sectra has earned a $353 million (USD) enterprise imaging contract while a legal challenge to the deal plays out in court, the Sweden-based vendor announced Friday. 

Public hospitals in the Canadian province of Quebec will use the Sectra One Cloud to streamline workflows and optimize image sharing. The contract covers 150 healthcare sites performing 12 million examinations per year. 

Saint-Eustache, Quebec-headquartered imaging solutions provider Christie Innomed is challenging the deal in court, claiming the bidding process was unfair. However, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (or “MSSS”), which handles the imaging contract for Quebec, scored a preliminary victory in the province’s Superior Court in May. This allows the project to proceed while the legal process unfolds, Sectra said in an announcement.

"I am honored by the trust MSSS Québec has placed in us in helping them enhance patient care across the province,” M. Nader Soltani, MBA, president of Sectra Canada, said in a statement. “This opportunity represents a significant milestone for Sectra in Canada and highlights our commitment to delivering innovative healthcare solutions.”

Sectra did not immediately respond to a Radiology Business request for comment about the legal challenge on Friday. 

Christie Innomed had sought a six-month injunction to prevent Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre in Montreal and MSSS from moving forward with the deal. The imaging vendor, which was founded in 1954, said it submitted a bid $148 million (USD) lower than Sectra’s as part of the process. But Sainte-Justine hospital informed Christie Innomed in March that it had been disqualified from the bidding process, as its services did not meet the required technical specifications. The company is now fighting the Sectra contract in court, claiming it’s invalid due to circumvention of procurement requirements, an “arbitrary” review of technical specifications, and a conflict of interest. 

On the latter, Christie Innomed is questioning the alleged involvement of Edith Laflamme, a consultant specializing in organizational change management. 

“Her professional background places her at the center of Innomed’s concerns regarding an alleged conflict of interest that would compromise the integrity of the call for tenders process,” according to Canadian court documents translated from French via Google. 

Laflamme was present at a videoconference session organized by the Sainte-Justine hospital in October 2023, in which intimate administrative details about the bidding process were revealed. Christine Innomed is concerned that the consultant may have allegedly transmitted information to Sectra, a company she started advising in April 2023. 

However, the Quebec Superior Court issued a preliminary ruling May 28 in favor of MSSS and moving forward with Sectra as the winning bidder. Canadian hospital authorities have charged that Laflamme was not involved in the procurement process. 

“Innomed must demonstrate that its rights could be irremediably lost or seriously compromised without the issuance of an interim injunction, which is not obvious in the context of an application for nullity,” according to a translation of the court decision. “Indeed, the notion of urgency is difficult to associate with Innomed’s concerns because they require an examination on the merits. Innomed is of the opinion that the mandates carried out by Ms. Edith Laflamme give rise to a conflict of interest in the call for tenders process. However, it is not specified since when the company has been concerned about this issue, which is a relevant element in the assessment of urgency. The tribunal is therefore unable to assess whether Innomed had the opportunity to file a complaint with the [hospital] and [procurement authority] in a timely manner. It is even less possible to assess, even in appearance, whether Sectra benefited from an illegitimate advantage that would have affected fairness between the bidders.”

More on the contract

Quebec is Canada’s largest province by land area, home to some 9 million residents, Sectra noted in its Sept. 27 announcement. The Ministry of Health and Social Services is moving to the Sectra One Cloud to accommodate anticipated growth as imaging volumes continue to swell in Canada. 

The 12-year cloud contract will initially involve MSSS Quebec using the vendor-neutral archive and modules for orthopedics, breast imaging and radiology.  This includes both reporting and voice recognition services, Sectra noted. The contracted order booking amounts to $300 million (USD) of which over $297 million is guaranteed. Including options, the contract value would balloon to $353 million over 12 years. MSSS also can extend the pact another three years for a max value of $463.4 million over 15 years. 

This is the largest medical imaging contract in the history of Quebec, according to an April news report from Le Journal de Montréal, which has further details.