Sia Moussavi, President and CEO of GE Healthcare Korea, said the company aims to go beyond providing medical devices and instead transform into a comprehensive solution providing company, expecting interoperability of systems can lead to savings of up to $300 billion worldwide.

“GE Healthcare has long been a box seller. However, we are now listening to customers’ voices and providing total comprehensive solutions for our customers”

Sia Moussavi, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, said, “Healthcare is something that everyone should care about and we have to go beyond just selling equipment and products and rather provide integrated solution in order for it to be a win-win for everyone.”

Moussavi cited a finding that claim up to 35 percent of patient cases today are misdiagnosed partly due to a lack of access to images, data and records, logging $300 billion in losses per year. He said GE Healthcare, which has the most extensive information network and data in the world, can help reduce healthcare costs by supporting clinicians and healthcare institutions.

GE which began as an electric lighting company 130 years ago is undergoing a transformation into a digital industrial company. GE Healthcare has been selling just medical devices such as CT, MRI, ultrasounds, and PET-CT but recently has been taking steps to transform into a comprehensive healthcare solution company. GE Healthcare accounts for 18% of gross sales for the GE group.

Moussavi said, “GE Healthcare aims to provide outcome-based solutions to our customers. By outcome we mean each and different outcomes that the customers want to achieve.” GE Healthcare provides solutions that are customized for each customer.

For example, in the case of biopharmaceutical customers who develop drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease, GE Life Sciences provides them with single-use tanks which are smaller than the pre-existing tanks so that they can reduce drug discovery cycle times.

“Sometimes we suggest and sell less equipment than what the customer originally intended to purchase. However, we are delighted if our customers can get additional advanced equipment with what they have saved with our deal to provide accurate diagnoses and achieve operational savings.”

“Our ultimate goal is to help improve patient care and drive better clinical and financial outcomes alongside healthcare providers. Over the past few years, GE Healthcare has been working with medical institutions in providing solutions by connecting clinicians through GE Health Cloud,” Moussavi said.

In fact, the company is receiving great feedback from customers who utilize ‘GE Health Cloud’, a digital platform. GE Health Cloud can connect to more than 500,000 imaging machines and provide analytics and insights. It helps with horizontal connections between departments in providing patient-oriented services. Interoperability of systems and collaboration has long been the goals of medical institutions.

Moussavi pointed out that “If clinicians from different departments could equally have access to information through Health Cloud, it will enhance the safety of patients as well as efficiency of diagnoses and treatments. This collaboration between different disciplines of medicine and specializations can be very difficult but clinicians can share information through their intranet using GE Health Cloud software. Clinicians collaborating horizontally can not only benefit the patients but also reduce costs and enhance the quality of healthcare.” Of course, it has to come with cyber security, privacy and ensuring that patient data are safe and private.

Moussavi said, “Healthcare devices are generating enormous amounts of data, and that data is expected to increase 50-fold by 2020. The GE Health Cloud can help unlock the value of this data, quickly and seamlessly for better patient care.”

He emphasized that, “Korea has a world-class IT infrastructure and effective healthcare system which makes Korea the perfect environment for leading future innovations in healthcare. Korean patients will be able to receive the best care if GE Healthcare helps clinicians share information and enable interdisciplinary treatment through GE Health Cloud.”

Regarding the attraction of Korea for Central Asian and Southeast Asian patients, Moussavi said, “The most effective way would be to invite clinicians from emerging markets and provide them with education and training. Then they will recognize the advanced Korean health care and send their patients to Korea even after they go back to their countries.” GE Healthcare is also running a program that supports the necessary equipment for the training of Asian clinicians who come to Korea. The company is supporting radiology and cardiology at the moment and plans to expand its support to other medical specialties as well.

By Lee Byung-moon

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