North Wales first in Europe to connect cardiology departments with GE Healthcare’s Centricity Cardio Enterprise solution

GE Healthcare supporting a number of European hospitals to improve efficiency and patient-care via innovative integrated care solutions

Birmingham, 4 November 2014 – GE Healthcare is sharing information on several partnerships focusing on integrated care at EHI Live on the 4-5 November in Birmingham, UK.

In North Wales, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is to become the first to implement Centricity Cardio Enterprise from GE Healthcare, connecting the cardiology departments of Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan and Wrexham Maelor, its three district hospitals.

The technology is expected to bring significant improvements to the continuity of care for cardiology patients in the region, since cardiologists will have remote access to all information, including the patient’s cardiac history, in one system.

Olivier Croly, Vice President and General Manager, GE Healthcare IT, Europe, said: “Many cardiology departments in the UK have a fragmented IT infrastructure, with different systems for every cardiac procedure. This leads to silos of information, and can affect the continuity of care for the patient.”

“For North Wales, the new system means that the cardiology departments will be able connect internally, helping to improve cardiac care across the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. Patient information will always be accessible at the point of care where it is needed, and the archive back-up solution means that the patient data is always stored in a safe environment.”

GE Healthcare will be implementing both Centricity Cardio Workflow for reporting, and Centricity Cardio Imaging, a web-based imaging solution. The solution also includes GE Healthcare’s MUSE ECG management system, which allows the hospitals to store and manage all their Electrocardiography (ECG) files.

The contract has been signed for a period of five years with an option to be extended by a further two years. The Welsh Government has provided £0.5m funding from its £25m Health Technologies Fund for Wales, announced in January 2013 to enable this initiative to be taken forward.

Health and Social Services Minister, Mark Drakeford said: “This is an excellent example of the major role technology has to play in the future of the NHS in Wales. The successful implementation of new technologies as they are developed helps to ensure we provide the safest and very best services to the people of Wales.”

Elsewhere in Europe:

• GE Healthcare is working with East Midlands Radiology Procurement (EMRAD) consortium to finalise the provision of a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS), Radiology Information System (RIS) and Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA). This will provide radiology information and reporting capability across a broad region serviced by seven acute NHS Trusts.
• University Hospitals Coventry, Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) and GE Healthcare were shortlisted in the Healthcare Business Analytics award at the 2014 EHI Awards for the Centricity Opera system, improving operating room flow and efficiency throughout the Trust.

Olivier Croly explained: “The current healthcare model is leading us to a funding gap of 30 billion GBP by 2020 (1) in England, which shows that the sector needs to be managed in a different way. It is positive that the healthcare providers have created a staggering amount of data over the past years, but we need to become better at accessing, sharing and connecting this information between clinicians and systems to improve productivity and patient-care.”

• In France, GE Healthcare has been chosen by the Medical Imaging Antilles-Guyane (IMAG) purchasing group in France to lead a consortium that provides a cloud imaging platform connecting hospital imaging centres and general practitioners in Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guyana. The project is financially supported by the Ministry of Health in France (Agences Regionales de Santé).
• In Belgium, GE Healthcare has provided Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) for the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA), to help improve cross-departmental collaboration between the 38 highly-specialised departments and where large amounts of patient data have moved to a single, unified source.

Strike the balance between image quality and patient safety with GE Healthcare’s Dose Management solutions

• At EHI Live on 5th November, GE Healthcare will be giving a presentation ‘Driving Patient Safety in Radiology – IQ & Dose Management Solutions’ as part of the UK Imaging Informatics Group session. The presentation focuses on ‘uncompromised imaging’ showing how hospitals can ensure that image quality and dose are optimised for every patient regardless of their shape or size.

1. NHS: The NHS belongs to the people: a call to action, 11 July 2013. http://www.england.nhs.uk/2013/07/11/call-to-action/

About Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is the largest health organisation in Wales, providing a full range of primary, community, mental health and acute hospital services for a population of around 676,000 people across the six counties of North Wales, as well as some parts of mid Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire.

We employ over 16,000 staff and have a budget of around £1.2 billion. We operate three district general hospitals, 18 other acute and community hospitals, and over 90 health centres. We also coordinate the work of GP practices, and NHS services from dentists, opticians and pharmacies in North Wales.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

SOURCE: GE Healthcare