Centricity - new standards in clinical quality and productivity at every step in the cycle of care

Dubai, UAE, January 31, 2007­ - GE Healthcare Integrated IT Solutions (IITS) business is showcasing the next generation of comprehensive IT solutions at Arab Health 2007. With the Middle East experiencing a period of significant demographic change including massive population growth and increasing urbanization, there has never before been such demand on its healthcare infrastructure, technology and expertise. To meet this growing market, the Middle East is increasingly turning to the latest technological advances and undertakes huge efforts to create the necessary infrastructure. Digital data management is the right step forward as it improves patient care, assists in qualified diagnosis, saves costs and at the same time reduces medical errors.

The Centricity portfolio ranges from Hospital Information Systems, Electronic Health Records, and Image Management Systems to Clinical and Cardiovascular Information Technologies. These systems not only provide clinically relevant data fast and reliable, but also convert it into information that is crucial for medical staff. "We deliver tools with clinical depth. That is the reason why over 40 hospitals in the Middle East region chose our Centricity solutions," said Juergen Reyinger, General Manager, IITS Europe, Middle East & Africa at GE Healthcare. Among these hospitals are the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and the University Hospital King Khalid, both in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who decided to implement state of the art customized IT-Solutions for their healthcare enterprises.

An exciting addition to GE's Centricity range in the Middle East is Centricity Enterprise, a solution, which offers a comprehensive lifetime health record, and capabilities that promote patient management and clinical excellence throughout the healthcare organization. Integrated multi-disciplinary modules promote patient safety and consistency of care, with seamless connectivity across care areas delivering greater efficiency and a streamlined paper-light environment. Together with complementary GE products and monitoring solutions, providers have the tools they need to better see, diagnose and treat their patients.

  With Centricity RIS/PACS 3.0 AW Suite 2.0 the Middle East healthcare enterprises now get a PACS system that is not only replacing films but also stores huge volumes of data. The new version offers sophisticated tools, beyond basic 3D volume rendering usually found in most PACS today. An example is CT Colonography, which supports radiologists during colonoscopy exams. The software enables a synchronized triple colon review and supports the localization of adenoids. In one click, the AutoBone functionality turns thousands of images into a very small set of clinically relevant images by automatically removing bone structures. This helps distinctly improving the vascular structure analysis.   "Clinicians tell us that one of the reasons why they work with Centricity is that it optimizes the clinical workflow with simple tools and can really assist them in their daily decisions. They see themselves enabled to provide fast and accurate diagnosis, and deliver individualized targeted therapies for their patients," added Reyinger.

In the area of Clinical Information Systems, the new version of Centricity Critical Care 6.0 provides even better access to patient data for intensive care treatment. The advanced event management tool helps to detect potential issues with a patient and assists by giving respective methods of treatments that a clinician may want to consider. From registration to planning and post stationary analysis: quick access to patient data via web browser guarantees a fast overview, even outside the Intensive Care Unit. Combined with Centricity Anesthesia, Centricity Critical Care is a truly integrated Information System for the Intensive Care Unit and anesthesia documentation. Its major strength is the automatic data transfer and documentation from monitors, infusion pumps, respiratory devices and anesthesia machines.  

Centricity Cardiology is one of the strongest tools to integrate cardiology solutions in the market. In the past two decades, cardiology and cardiac procedures have been among the fastest growing medical practices in the Middle East & Africa. With the recent boom of the cardiovascular information technology, Centricity Cardiology (Centricity Carddas and CA1000) has given the ability to analyze and review patient historical data while performing cardiac procedures. These procedures have demonstrated a tremendous added value to both physicians and patients. Facilitating the opportunity to review, discuss and share decisions of any cardiac study with physicians - anywhere - both locally and outside the hospital, has helped to positively impact patients' welfare in the Middle East and Africa region.

At every step in the cycle of care - from revenue cycle acceleration to clinical workflow optimization -Centricity is facilitating a new level of connectivity, enhancing the reliability of the patient-centered workflow, and turning information into insight for every member of the healthcare community.

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About GE Healthcare:
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.

GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a US$17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

For further information, please contact:  
Kelly Home / Nedal Alassad
ASDA'A Public Relations,
Exclusive Affiliate of Edelman PR Worldwide in Middle East and North Africa
Tel: (+971 4) 334 4550
Email: k.home@asdaa.com /n.alassad@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2007