GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare, UPMC plan to open 25 cancer centers abroad

Anne Zieger — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:53:18 -0500

GE Healthcare has announced that it's partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to open 25 cancer centers in Europe and the Middle East in the next 10 years. GE will not have an ownership stake in the centers, but will be the exclusive provider of the oncology-treatment equipment used in the centers.

Part of the agreement that UPMC made with the local hospital centers involved is that no one involved will reveal the exact locations yet. However, UPMC has said that the hospital centers will not be in major metropolitan areas, but rather in outlying communities of 150,000 or more. The goal is to keep people living in these areas from having to travel to the nearest major city for their cancer treatment.

To learn more about the partnership:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Cleveland Clinic gets $60M for cardiac center

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 19:01:36 -0500

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 new companies using its CCF Innovations technology commercialization arm. However, it also plans to acquire new technologies of its own. The GCIC will also work with Ohio companies focused on cardiovascular treatment research, as well as medical device and drug development. Partners in the venture include the Fairfax Renaissance Development, a community development corporation, Case Medical Center, The Ohio State University, The University of Cincinnati, the University of Toledo, as well as corporate sponsors such as Medtronic, Pfizer, IBM and GE Healthcare.

Find out more about the deal:
- read this Cleveland Clinic release

ALSO NOTED: GE Healthcare makes nursing home play; LifePoint names Carpenter CEO; and much more...

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> 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 CEO. The hospital company announced the retirement of serving CEO Kenneth Donahey. Article

> Cisco has signed a deal with University Hospitals Health System of Ohio to use its Converged IP Communications System. Release

> Colorado's Schryver Medical picks Medicity's EHR software for a five-state deployment. Release

> Duke Healthcare System is using technology developed by IBM to help manage user passwords and accounts on its electronic medical records system. Release

And Finally… America's funniest home medical devices? A man wins $400,000 after his implant goes horribly, horribly wrong and leaves him in a constant state of embarrassment. Article

ALSO NOTED: GE Healthcare buys Biacore; Effort to block physician reimbursement cuts gains steam; and much more...

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> 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. Article

> Lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation that would block pending Medicare reimbursement cuts targeting physicians. Article

> UBS Research forecast a good year ahead for AllScripts based on rising IT demand in healthcare. Article

And Finally... Faced with a bed shortage, a hospital sends a patient to a nearby bed and breakfast. Article

SPOTLIGHT: Report criticizes NHS IT project

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:01:33 -0400

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)

BT said to favor Cerner in NHS deal

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 20:01:35 -0400

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 Kansas City-based Cerner.

- see this article from The Financial Times

Consortium to push for home monitoring tech

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 20:01:38 -0400

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 Healthcare System. The group will develop a logo that will be displayed on products that meet its certification requirement. Continua also plans to develop its own set of standards in order to ensure device makers and other vendors that new technologies on the market will be compatible with each other.

- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

ALSO NOTED: McGuire at risk in options probe?; Thomson acquires MercuryMD; and much more...

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> 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 Healthcare is touting the Vivid e, its newest compact ultrasound system for cardiac imaging at the point of care. Release

> Barton Memorial Hospital in S. Lake Tahoe, CA will install MEDHOST's Emergency Department Information System. Release

> McKesson Specialty said it has won an agreement with Altos Solutions to distribute the software company's OncoEMR product to oncology practices. Release

And Finally... Following the discovery of the most recent bird flu cluster in Indonesia, International health officials are admitting that the number of cases of human to human transmission of avian flu is probably much higher than has been conceded. Article

ALSO NOTED: NHS effort running two years behind, McKesson sells EPS unit to Parata; and much more...

Mon, 29 May 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> 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. Article

> General Electric invests $250 million in infrastructure projects in India. GE Healthcare will be a partner in Dr. Naresh Trehan's Medicity project in New Delhi. Article

> You thought your co-pays were a big deal? Wait until you see the average consumer-directed plan, writes the Detroit Free Press. Article

> Six hospital Virginia's Sentara Healthcare will spend $237 million to develop an integrated electronic health record network. Article

> Gemplus has scored a smartcard deal with the French national health system. Article

> Ohio-based Summa Health System has inked a deal with eClinicalWorks. The provider will use both the eClinicalWorks electronic medical record and practice management solutions. Release

And Finally… A doctor is suing his own hospital over his wife's death. Article

ALSO NOTED: UT gets grant from Dell; Medco reaches deal with striking workers; and much more...

Tue, 16 May 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> 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 ultrasound technology to the cath lab. Article

> Restore Medical, the maker of an implantable device designed to treat sleep disorders, priced its IPO shares at $8, lower than expected. Article

> Chutes & Ladders: Healthways has named Jim Pope chief operating officer. Pope will play a lead role in Healthways new partnership with Medco. Article

> Healthcare Business Resources, a provider of physician billing and revenue management services, said it will use Vignette's imaging and work flow technology. Release

> A new Bluetooth working group is looking at medical device interoperability. Article

> Medco said that it has reached an agreement with striking workers at its Las Vegas distribution center. Release

> There's trouble at Bausch & Lomb as the FDA says the company failed to report evidence of serious risks linked to the ReNu contact lens solution. Article

And Finally... Rumors abound that Misys is about to announce the acquisition of Emergisoft, a maker of emergency department information systems. The evidence appears to back up the story. Blog