“Biomed34 is a typical example of how the French healthcare system has changed over the last few years,” says Communications Manager Alexandre Boulier. “While in former times, typically one or two doctors or pharmacists ran a laboratory, now, there is a trend toward concentration. Social security has reduced many benefits in the health sector significantly. At the same time, new obligations such as IT investment and accreditation requirements have been created, resulting in increasing costs for laboratories and other medical institutions. Given this dilemma, we decided to establish an association of different laboratories to increase volume and to take advantage of the rationalization potential. As a group of independent laboratories, we are all stakeholders now.”
Biomed34 was founded in 2008 and consists of 17 independent laboratories all located in the Hérault department in the southwest of France. The group is part of Group UniBio, which itself belongs to the network BPR. 150 employees work for Biomed34 today, among them 25 biologists. Its annual turnover is 16 million EUR.
“Our laboratories are responsible for all kinds of laboratory analyses,” states Mr. Boulier. “Thanks to our excellent network, we are able to offer highly specialized services. Our employees are all highly qualified scientists, which allows us to provide medical services of extraordinary quality. We not only offer consulting for patients but also for doctors. And as we are not limited to only offering laboratory analysis, we operate as a kind of hub between doctor and patient.”
When it comes to the future, Biomed34 is remaining realistic. “Our development is limited by law,” says Mr. Boulier. “We are not allowed to do more than 33% of all laboratory analyses for the department. And it is compulsory work in rural areas as well. In the long run, we will consolidate our network and even think about new association forms – at home and abroad. We share our experiences with colleagues in Germany for instance, and maybe one day we will build up a European network.”