GE unveils digital tech effort

General Electric's healthcare unit unveiled three initiatives in IT that promise lower-cost, higher-quality healthcare through the sharing of records and the latest research electronically, reports CNN Money.

Numerous interests, private to public, have been pushing for increased use of electronic medical records to cut errors and costs. But efforts have been held back by concerns about security breaches and patient privacy.

Among GE Healthcare's initiatives is a programme, developed collaboratively with the Mayo Clinic, to ensure physicians are continuously alerted to new diagnostic research and treatment findings on a near real-time basis.

Telus, Canada's second largest telecoms operator, will invest $100 million over three years in a division to build and service networks for sharing medical records and other information, says CBC News.

The move by Telus's business solutions unit, based in Toronto, comes in the wake of the telecoms company's purchase of Montreal-based electronic commerce firm Emergis early this year.

Emergis is a major provider of software used to manage healthcare records, drug bills and other information in the pharmacy and broader healthcare industry.

A national care records scheme for Scotland, an online translation service for hospitals and software designed to help emergency and unplanned care services direct patients to the right service, are among the winners in the BT e-Health Insider Awards 2008, according to PR Newswire.

The BT e-Health Insider Awards was presented at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel, in London, this week. The awards are hosted and organised by the healthcare IT sector publication, E-Health Insider, in partnership with BT Health, a UK supplier of healthcare IT services.

The purpose of the awards is to highlight and reward the hard work and innovation of the teams working in healthcare technology.