GE Healthcare, Capsule Announce Agreement

GE Healthcare and Capsule Tech Inc. announced a relationship to help speed the access of clinical information to caregivers. The companies will align GE Healthcare´s CARESCAPE portfolio of patient monitors with Capsule´s Enterprise Device Connectivity Solution and Mobile Vitals Plus applications. Capsule´s leading connectivity solution improves medical device information flow throughout the hospital - from critical care, to the OR, ED, and med-surg units. Under the terms of the arrangement, GE Healthcare will resell Capsule´s products.

A recent study determined that error rates for vital signs captured on plain paper and then entered into an electronic medical record (EMR) were 4.4 percent. 1 By improving connectivity between patient monitors, biomedical devices and hospital information systems, data can flow directly into EMRs, which may reduce documentation errors and enhance patient safety. As an initial step in the relationship, hospitals can now leverage GE Healthcare´s vital signs monitors with Capsule´s Mobile Vitals Plus application, which helps caregivers capture vital signs for multiple patients, validate these clinical measurements at the point of care and automatically send them to the EMR. Mobile Vitals Plus connectivity with GE Healthcare´s monitors and EMRs can help clinicians make efficient clinical decisions, supporting quality of care. The new connectivity offering will be demonstrated at the HIMSS11 annual conference February 20 to February 24 in Orlando, Fla.

"This long-term GE Healthcare-Capsule relationship brings together leaders in patient monitoring and connectivity, to deliver on the CARESCAPE vision of helping caregivers make informed clinical decisions quickly, supporting quality patient care," says David Ataide, vice president and general manager of Patient Care Solutions, GE Healthcare.

"With a shared fundamental belief about the importance of connectivity, GE Healthcare and Capsule are aligned to deliver patient-centric information, when and where it is needed. We are committed to automating the flow of data from patient monitors and other medical devices to the EMR, to help nurses and physicians spend more time caring for the patient."

The Capsule relationship enables GE Healthcare to provide an enterprise device connectivity solution, throughout the hospital, both inside and outside the GE Healthcare offering, to automatically transmit relevant clinical information to a broad range of EMRs. The GE Healthcare CARESCAPE portfolio of integrated products encompasses advancements in patient monitoring, as well as IT, wireless and networking solutions. It helps deliver actionable clinical intelligence at the desired time and place, providing caregivers with a comprehensive view of clinical information.

"We are excited to work with GE Healthcare as their connectivity solution of choice," says Arnaud Houette, CEO of Capsule Tech, Inc. "The CARESCAPE portfolio of monitoring products addresses the reality that hospitals today are complex, fast-moving and require integrated, near-real time information. Our FDA-cleared solution, which supports more than 500 devices, enhances the efficiency of transmitting patient information through the care environment, helping address the needs of both higher and lower acuity environments. This new GE Healthcare relationship may allow hospital staff to better manage their time, so they can focus their primary attention on predicting, diagnosing and treating patient conditions earlier."