DUBLIN - Feb. 13, 2017 - Medtronic today announced the launch of Medtronic Impact in its Europe, Middle East & Africa region, which is part of the company's drive towards value-based healthcare (VBHC).

Medtronic Impact introduces an entirely new approach to healthcare education and development, extending beyond traditional product and procedure training to delivering learning based on outcomes that matter to patients.  It will cover an extensive range of topics to the entire spectrum of healthcare professionals (HCPs), with the intent to reach more than 500,000 HCPs in the next five years.

The program will enable HCPs, at all levels, to grow their skills and knowledge through specially-designed learning pathways, tailored to their level of expertise and specialism.  These multi-stage, learning pathways will cover a broad range of topics and use a wide range of teaching methodologies to support HCP development in an emerging world of VBHC.

"Medtronic Impact is a significant investment that sets an entirely new standard for professional development in the medical technology industry," said Rob ten Hoedt, executive vice president & president, Medtronic EMEA.  "Its new, extensive curriculum will not only equip HCPs to access training that is relevant to their clinical skills development, but it will also build a wider range of non-clinical capabilities as we move increasingly towards a VBHC environment."

Medtronic Impact is also focused on developing a network of collaborations with world-class healthcare institutions and medical societies, where highly specialized training programs will be developed and delivered. These connections are critical to enabling HCPs and Medtronic to meet the ambition of learning that is aligned with a focus on outcomes.

The emerging network so far includes:

• Barcelona Campus, Catalonia, Spain
• IRCAD, Strasbourg, France
• Sunskill Laboratory, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Dundee Institute for Healthcare Simulation, University of Dundee, Scotland

Mike Roby, senior director, Learning & Innovation at Medtronic said: "Collaborations with world-class healthcare institutions and medical societies will enable us to radically transform how we design and deliver training and education.  We firmly believe that the collective efforts of the network we're cultivating will create more value and positively impact outcomes that matter to patients."

Medtronic Impact is committed to incorporating newly-developed, online immersive education experiences that complement Medtronic's portfolio of industry-leading, face-to-face sessions. It will introduce a personalized web portal enabling healthcare professionals to access their own, individual career-based learning pathways.  

This platform will also be coupled with innovative technologies such as virtual classrooms, augmented reality, and remote case observation capability to ensure the richest blended learning experience.

Medtronic Impact is a multi-year program that will begin roll out during 2017.  For more information, please visit http://www.medtronic.eu/IMPACT

About Medtronic
Medtronic plc (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world's largest medical technology, services and solutions companies - alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world. Medtronic employs more than 88,000 people worldwide, serving physicians, hospitals and patients in approximately 160 countries. The company is focused on collaborating with stakeholders around the world to take healthcare Further, Together.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

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