Uninterrupted communication within a hospital is a requirement for physicians, patients and visitors and is essential to quality care. Sprint (NYSE: S) and GE Healthcare announced today their collaboration to provide in-building wireless communications services to hospitals in North America. Patients, clinicians and hospital visitors will benefit from secure, reliable voice and data communications, supporting an environment conducive to higher levels of patient care.Historically, the use of mobile phones in hospitals has been limited due to unreliable wireless support and the risk of interference between wireless phones and medical equipment. Using the new combined offering, physicians and caregivers will be able to communicate amongst each other and securely access patient information from almost anywhere in the facility.
The new in-building cellular communications network from GE Healthcare and Sprint’s Custom Network Solution (CNS) team leverages GE’s CARESCAPE™ Enterprise Access™, a single, universal wireless platform powered by MobileAccess, and includes Sprint handsets. This solution will provide hospitals with a comprehensive platform for voice and data communications over secure cellular, Wi-Fi and telemetry infrastructure that requires only one installation. Using the combined offering, clinicians, patients and hospital visitors can communicate more efficiently and with ease.
“Sprint CNS provides scalable coverage and a high-capacity platform for wireless voice and data services on the Sprint National Network and Nextel National Network, enhancing the mobility and productivity of staff at hospitals and other businesses,” says Darlene Braunschweig, vice president of CNS at Sprint. “We are very excited to partner with GE Healthcare to provide differentiated and innovative mobile solutions that are critical for every business. This new solution facilitates constant communication of secure information amongst hospital staff; an aspect very critical to patient care.”
GE CARESCAPE Enterprise Access, built on the MobileAccess technology platform, enables critical patient data to be securely coordinated, managed and distributed without the type of communications failures, interference or interruptions that can be caused by un-integrated systems. It is designed to transparently incorporate new systems and services without the need to install parallel, standalone infrastructures. CARESCAPE Enterprise Access is part of GE Healthcare’s CARESCAPE portfolio, an integrated suite of patient monitoring devices, communications networks and IT systems designed to transform traditional patient monitoring data into clinical intelligence. The CARESCAPE portfolio, released in May 2007, reflects a new approach to patient monitoring that provides clinicians with the opportunity to act earlier in the care process when compared to traditional patient monitoring and communication methods.
“The CARESCAPE portfolio represents our commitment to providing customers with a wide range of products and services that work together to help clinicians improve patient care,” said Munesh Makhija, General Manager of Systems and Wireless for GE Healthcare’s Monitoring Solutions business. “Our agreement with Sprint reflects this commitment. By harnessing the power of in-building cellular communications, hospitals will be able to offer secure, reliable voice and data communications throughout a campus, which can support improved communication and ultimately, patient outcomes.”
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL
Sprint CNS is a leader in providing enhanced in-building and campus-wide network consulting, integration and fixed mobile convergence solutions. Sprint designs, deploys and maintains wireless networks and mobility solutions that deliver the productivity and efficiency of voice and data communications to virtually anywhere a business and their employees need them. Sprint’s CNS team offers 24/7 technical support and manages all stages of the customer deployment process, from the initial requirements assessment through installation and deployment with consultant-grade methods, procedures and tools. For more information about Sprint CNS, please visit www.sprint.com/cns.
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving 54 million customers at the end of the second quarter 2007; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
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