GE Healthcare news from FierceHealthcare

Working with academic organizations and biomedical groups, the Cleveland Clinic has gotten a $60 million grant from the state of Ohio to develop a cardiovascular research center. The center will receive a designation allowing it to draw ongoing state financial support in addition to the initial $60 million. The Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC) will follow a traditional academic technology transfer model, developing new cardiovascular treatment technologies and spinning off …

> Sentillion introduced vThere, a system that allows physicians to access their work stations from home. Release

> GE Healthcare made a move into real estate, picking up 186 nursing homes from Formation Capital in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Article

> LifePoint named William Carpenter as its president and …

> GE Healthcare will pay $390 million to buy Sweden's Biacore, a maker of  machines for the life sciences industry, extending GE's move into that business after the purchase of Amersham International. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

> Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) talked up EMRs at a conference on Long Island attended by hundreds of healthcare execs. …

Britain's National Audit Office released a report warning that delays in the implementation of the country's massive health IT project may "hurt public confidence in the project." Meanwhile, the behind-the-scenes jostling between Cerner and GE Healthcare for control of the London phase of the project is continuing. Report (.pdf)

British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has been asked to block an attempt by BT to oust GE Healthcare as the provider of electronic medical record software for the London region and replace the company with rival Cerner. BT officials are reportedly unhappy with the slow pace of GE's implementation effort on the project. Last year, Fujitsu made waves when it dumped IDX for Cerner in the U.K.'s southern region. Of course, any change will have major implications for both GE Healthcare and …

The Continua Health Alliance will unite Intel, IBM, Cisco, Samsung, Philips and other big tech names with companies working on the healthcare side in an effort to encourage innovation and adoption of new health IT technologies. The group's focus will be remote monitoring products designed to allow physicians and other healthcare providers to track patients remotely at home. Key partners on the healthcare side include Medtronic, Kaiser Permanente, GE Healthcare and Boston's Partner's …

> Observers speculate that as the options-backdating scandal broadens, criminal charges become more likely. Could UnitedHealth Group's McGuire be at risk? Article

> Information services giant Thomson formalizes its deal with MercuryMD, the Research Triangle based maker of MData Enterprise. Article

> GE …

> The UK health minister admits that plans to give all 50 million NHS patients in England a full electronic medical record are running at least two to two-and-a-half years late. Article

> McKesson will sell its automated prescription services segment to Parata Systems, a pharmacy robotics specialist.  …

> The University of Texas has received a $50 million grant from Dell. Part of the money goes to a new pediatric research facility and there is speculation that the project could evolve into a much-dreamed-about medical school for Austin. Article

> GE Healthcare and St. Jude have signed a deal that will see the two collaborate on new products. Expect to see a new system designed to bring GE …

> Indonesian health authorities say there is no evidence that bird flu is spreading on the island of Sumatra, after reports of a cluster of cases last week. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

> In Massachusetts, Tufts and BCBS of Mass. reported first quarter operating losses yesterday. Both ended up in the black thanks to investment income. …