Q:GE Healthcare Service created a buzz at the annual AAMI conference in Philadelphia. What caused all the excitement?
A: At AAMI, GE Healthcare showcased a suite of new and enhanced offerings designed to address some of healthcare providers’ most pressing operational challenges: infrastructure connectivity, getting the right service parts as quickly as possible, avoiding ultrasound downtime related to damaged probes, and synthesizing data to help them optimize their assets. These solutions can help healthcare providers improve operational efficiency in the midst of a changing regulatory environment, industry consolidation and evolving patient populations.
Q: How can GE Healthcare help address hospitals’ desire for stronger support and risk management, especially when it comes to some of the latest technologies?
A: GE Healthcare’s new offering, Clinical Engineering Technology Management (CETM), is an end-to-end infrastructure connectivity service that assists IT and Clinical Engineering with design, deployment, maintenance and management of mission critical networks, wireless networks, distributed antenna systems and devices that connect and provide critical patient data to healthcare providers and hospital IT systems. The new service is in direct response to hospitals’ demand for stronger, more evolved support and risk management given the burgeoning use of mobile and other networked devices, as well as complex regulatory requirements.
GE Healthcare’s CETM Service helps hospitals bridge the gap between their IT and Clinical Engineering departments by enabling collaboration between resources and providing ongoing, proactive counsel on risk management of wired and wireless networks that have integrated medical devices or when changes occur either to the network or integrated medical devices. This support continues throughout each phase of the lifecycle of a medical IT network.
Q:What is the best way for HTM professionals to acquire parts and data for GE devices? 
A: Service Shop is GE Healthcare’s new online resource that provides clinical engineering teams with access to GE parts and information for equipment, such as ultrasound, anesthesia, maternal infant care, cardiology and patient monitoring devices. It allows healthcare teams to search, verify and order parts and accessories efficiently via any web-connected device. The easy-to-use interface allows review of previous orders and sharing of carts, saving time and effort and helping to avoid ordering errors.
Q:Â Ultrasound technology seems to be advancing quickly, yet probes continue to be an area of concern for clinical engineering departments. What is the GE Service solution for ultrasound probes?
A: GE Healthcare’s new AssurePoint* (AP) Probe Performance provides support services to clinical engineering programs to help lower ultrasound service cost while minimizing risk exposure. AP Probe Performance provides a complete probe management solution by combining the high quality probe repair of Unisyn with the support technology of FirstCall*, a proprietary device that tests the probe’s performance, Trophon**, a complete ultrasound
transducer disinfection system, InSite* remote services and productivity tool; and training and education offering on probe handling and care.
Q: Repairs are only part of the HTM professional’s workload. How does GE Healthcare assist with asset management?
A: GE Healthcare has revamped its asset management platform, iCenter*, to enable customers to better optimize their GE and non-GE biomedical and diagnostic assets through its ability to find information faster and analyze data and create reports more easily.
These improvements mean that customers get instant access to critical information – such as asset status, location, maintenance history, use and planning – with fewer clicks. A built-in analytics engine provides for more visual and intuitive data depiction along with enhanced user security, ultimately enabling improved decision making for care-providing teams and helping to support more efficient hospital operations. An integrated guided tour helps customers quickly acclimate to the new platform with minimal training. The enhanced iCenter is the company’s platform for future online service applications and is designed for scalability to accommodate a customer’s future needs.
*GE, the GE Monogram, AssurePoint, FirstCall, InSite, and iCenter are trademarks of General Electric Company.
**All third party trademarks are the property of their respective owner.
For more information,
please visit www.gehealthcare.com
