MX (IT In Healthcare) - September/October 2005 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 9/21/2005
Last Visited: 9/21/2005
Steve Crowley
The medical world is moving toward a state of "information and data access anywhere," according to Steve Crowley, general manager of clinical software engineering with GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK).
"We're leaving the days of patient data being only available in one location on film," he says."We have increasing ability to pull patient data off devices and transmit them from location to location.This means a lot to a doctor at home at 2 a.m.," Crowley says.
"Whether it's wireless or wired, it needs to capture and communicate information with a central system.That's an absolute," he says.The backbone of this capability, he says, is the ability of devices to connect to high-speed broadband."If you roll the clock back to 2001, there were very few high-speed connections to hospital equipment," he says.
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"GE has made an investment to embed 'smart' systems that allow us to monitor equipment and potentially predict when failure is likely to occur, and remotely diagnose and fix it," Crowley says.This must be done in a secure environment that protects patient and hospital data.
GE Healthcare started developing remote diagnostic capabilities in 1991, and is now working with Questra Corp. (Redwood City, CA), a provider of device management services and products, to extend the capabilities of its remote monitoring systems.
Already, Crowley says, remote diagnostics are driving efficiencies by reducing downtime on critical equipment."No one has the money to go buy extra devices just so they have redundancy in their department in case systems go down," he says.
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Partly due to the expense required, remote monitoring capabilities are not widespread throughout the medical device market, although more manufacturers are starting to take notice, Crowley says.One consideration in deciding what systems warrant technology enhancements is the capital intensity of the item.GE has built remote monitoring capabilities into high-end diagnostic imaging machines, as well as into equipment outside the medical sector, such as locomotives, aircraft engines, and industrial plant systems.Crowley says the healthcare industry presents a unique case in that manufacturers also have to look beyond cost to consider the fact that the devices they build are life critical.
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"If anyone has to worry about providing secure data access and transmittal, we do," says Crowley, adding that if a client's software becomes corrupted, it can move through the system and affect others."We take security extremely seriously."
Encryption and the removal of specific patient data are key requirements, says Crowley, as is continually upgraded virus-scanning software."If a facility remains an island, then there's no danger," he says.
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Down the line, Crowley envisions a hospital environment where an integrated system enhances the patient experience: patients will provide their information only one time upon entering a clinic, and as they move from department to department, they will be instantly recognized by the system."It will no longer be about having the world's best technology, but rather about having these smart machines completely interconnected," he says.
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