GE is the exclusive distributor of Caradigm's technologies in the region
DUBAI, UAE; Tuesday, January 29, 2013: GE Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare information technology, today announced it has been named the exclusive distributor of Caradigm™ technologies in the Middle East region. Consistent with its partner strategy in select international markets, Caradigm chose GE Healthcare to distribute Caradigm solutions because of GE's strong established presence in the region, customer relationships and deep local healthcare domain knowledge.
Formed in June 2012, Caradigm is a 50-50 joint venture between the Healthcare IT business of General Electric Co. (NYSE "GE") and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq "MSFT"). It is aimed at enabling health systems and professionals to use near real-time, organization-wide intelligence to improve healthcare quality and the patient experience.
Through this distribution agreement with GE, Caradigm will bring an open healthcare intelligence platform and collaborative clinical applications focused on enabling better population health management to improve outcomes and the economics of health and wellness. GE Healthcare will initially offer Amalga, Caradigm's intelligence platform, and Caradigm's family of identity and access management products. Amalga aggregates clinical and financial data from across the care continuum and connects providers and populations via quality improvement, analytics and care coordination use cases and applications created on top of the platform.
"We're excited to collaborate with GE Healthcare to drive the transformation that's needed in healthcare in the Middle East," said Caradigm CEO Michael Simpson. "The Caradigm intelligence platform is designed to empower healthcare organizations to use big data strategically to improve healthcare quality. We expect to see the development of many innovative data-driven applications that address the complexities of population health today."
GE Healthcare's initial distribution territory in the region includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar with the opportunity to expand further based on market need. GE Healthcare is responsible for sales, implementation, and support and maintenance services for customers in the region.
"With rising healthcare costs and pressure on healthcare spend across the Middle East, we see increasing demand for such unique healthcare IT solutions across the region that have the potential to enable providers to significantly improve standards of care", said Mamar Gelaye, General Manager of Healthcare IT for GE Healthcare's operations in Middle East, Africa, Russia & CIS and Turkey and Central Asia.
Gelaye added: "For example, if you think about just managing the rise of chronic diseases and the associated costs, imagine a software platform that enables a healthcare system to identify a population of chronic disease patients; to develop standardized care plans; to track those patients; to help them self-manage their care and treatment; to enable clinicians to monitor their progress remotely and to proactively interact with the patients if there is a problem or if they are really doing well. That's a real population-focused change and it's exciting."
The Middle East region faces a number of significant and serious healthcare challenges, with life expectancy lagging behind developed countries, an increasing and ageing population and some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world.
According to a McKinsey Report on healthcare in the GCC region, demand for healthcare is projected to grow by an average 315% across the GCC region by 2025 in terms of millions of treatments sought -- both outpatient and inpatient. Simultaneously, the overall cost of healthcare delivery is set to increase fivefold to about US$60 billion during the same period, led by population growth, medical inflation, ageing and risk factors. Cardiovascular diseases are set to create the largest burden on the healthcare bills accounting for about 25% of the total costs by 2025.
A study by Alpen Capital too indicates that the healthcare market in the GCC region is set to grow at an annual rate of 11% to about US$44 billion by 2015, with outpatient and inpatient markets expected to grow by 82% and 18% respectively. With four out of the six GCC nations ranking among the Top 20 countries in obesity prevalence according to the McKinsey study, a focus on bringing the newest diagnostic technologies and provision of world-class treatment are imperative for the region's healthcare sector.
GE Healthcare believes that integrated care is the future of healthcare delivery. Integrated care is a patient-driven, outcomes-driven method of delivering healthcare. It is enabled by linking together information from across the healthcare delivery system (in-patient, ambulatory, home-based), to generate new insights that help to improve the quality of care, while contributing to cost and waste reduction from the healthcare system. Today, GE Healthcare IT is actively investing in software-enabled solutions that matter to its customers, and helping them run more effectively and efficiently - contributing to better quality care for more patients at a lower cost.
Visit GE Healthcare's stand at Arab Health at Saeed Hall, Booth #S3B10 at the Dubai International Convention Center. With over 3,500 exhibitors, Arab Health is the world's longest running healthcare exhibition and congress and is now in its 38th year. About 85,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, from over 140 countries.
The Platinum Sponsor of Arab Health and a key partner of choice to healthcare providers across the Middle East, GE Healthcare will also present its diverse portfolio of products, services and customer solutions as part its commitment to strengthening the region's healthcare infrastructure.
Kelly Home
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600
Nivine William
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
[email protected]
+971 4 4507 600