Health tech good for SA

Ongoing investments by SA`s private hospital industry in healthcare technology not only contribute to the sector`s capacity to provide world-class medicine to the country`s citizens, but also place SA on an equal footing with first-world countries, Money Web reports.

The private hospital industry`s continuous technological investment adds value to the African continent and enhances SA`s competitiveness on the global stage, says Hospital Association of SA CEO, Advocate Kurt Worrall-Clare.

Some of the more recent technological advances introduced within SA`s private hospitals include the installation of the most advanced digital operating theatre on the African continent and the first digital operating rooms dedicated to orthopedic surgery. Theatres at a Durban hospital relay real-time footage to the theatre and/or adjacent training facilities for continuing medical education purposes.

GE Healthcare has introduced its enterprise integrated solutions - the electronic health record, radiology information system, picture archiving communication system, cardiovascular information solution and clinical information solution at the Saudi e-Health conference, held recently in Riyadh, reports Strategiy.

GE, which recently completed its acquisition of healthcare ICT provider IDX Systems, also introduced its IDX capabilities to the region for the first time.

The Saudi e-Health Conference, considered the largest healthcare technology event in the Middle East and attended by 500 specialists from around the region, included presentations, discussions and case studies led by international experts and specialists.