GE Healthcare Canada wins ITAC 2010 Company of the Year Award

Information Technology Association of Canada also honours GE with Project Implementation Team of the Year Award

GE Healthcare Canada, a global leader in information technology, has won the Information Technology Association of Canada's (ITAC) 2010 Company of the Year Award. This award recognizes a distinguished for-profit healthcare IT company that has demonstrated excellence in the Canadian health informatics industry over the past twelve months. GE Healthcare won the award as the solutions provider for several major image exchange projects funded by Canada Health Infoway and eHealth Ontario.

"We cannot overstate what this honour means to our company and our efforts to enhance healthcare across Canada" said Peter Robertson, General Manager of GE Healthcare Canada.

In addition, GE and the Vancouver Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (VANOC) won 2010 ITAC Project Implementation Team of the Year honours for the deployment of Centricity® Radiology-IW, marking the first official use of an imaging information system during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  "This was the first official use of this type of technology solution in Canada", noted Peter Robertson.  "The system provided real-time access to the latest information and images when treating athletes.  The clinician's ability to connect to other automated systems and health facilities reduced or eliminated the need to transport athletes for medical advice, and ultimately supported decision making regarding return to competition." 

"Partnering with a proven healthcare IT company was paramount to the successful implementation of this complex, multi-stakeholder project," said Dr. Jack Taunton, Chief Medical Officer of VANOC. "This award is testament to the calibre of the team members who worked tirelessly to deliver the project on time and on budget."

Despite a 65% increase in imaging studies over Torino 2006, transports at the Vancouver Games decreased by more than 96% - from 1,198 to 47 - with a one-hour report turnaround time achieved in most cases.

GE's strong commitment to R&D in the health informatics industry helps to solve high impact healthcare challenges. Omnyx, a joint venture of GE Healthcare and UPMC (Pittsburgh, Penn.), launched a global Collaborators Program to advance digital pathology products, technology and use for clinical applications. University Health Network in Ontario, Canada is participating in this global forum to share best practices on how digital pathology can meet these and other significant challenges.

Through Emergency Neurosurgery Image Transfer System leveraging GE's web-based technology, patients with head trauma or other neurological complications can access the country's top specialists without regard for location. Since January 2009, nearly 2,000 trauma cases have been referred to ENITS and the network has significantly reduced the need for high-risk travel, avoiding 425 patient transfers at an estimated system cost savings of $46MM. ENITS earned GE the 2009 ITAC Corporate IT Hero Award.

"We are determined to deliver on the promise of our "healthymagination" commitment using IT and high technology, low cost devices to increase access and improve the quality of care to support Canada's healthcare system," said Peter Robertson.