Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Blue Jay Consulting, a leading provider of consulting services to hospital emergency departments in the U.S. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. Financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed.

“Our customers are increasingly asking us to help them improve patient engagement and operational efficiencies across their enterprise,” said Jeroen Tas, CEO Healthcare Informatics, Solutions and Services. “The ability to augment our health technology offering with consulting services is therefore a critical element of our integrated solutions. With the acquisition of Blue Jay Consulting, Philips is further executing on its strategy to strengthen its capabilities to enhance the operational and financial performance of hospitals and health systems, while enhancing outcomes for both hospitals and patients alike.”

In the past three years, Philips has significantly strengthened its capabilities in consulting services and business model innovation in health care. This has, for example, resulted in the recently announced long-term enterprise managed services partnership with Westchester Medical Center Health Network in the state of New York. The acquisition of Blue Jay Consulting will further expand these capabilities, primarily in the U.S, but also globally.

Blue Jay Consulting, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, U.S., has built up a highly successful practice through comprehensive assessment, process improvement, coaching, teaching and implementing outcome-oriented solutions. The company employs approximately 35 employees.

Blue Jay Consulting will become part of Philips’ Healthcare Informatics, Solutions and Services business, which offers hospitals and health systems with consulting, education and design services, customized clinical programs, advanced data analytics and interoperable, cloud-based platforms necessary to implement new models of care.