by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | September 23, 2015
GE Healthcare has created a new business unit to oversee the needs of 70 world markets throughout India, South Asia, Africa and Southeast Asia, with a singular goal of improving access to care for 5.8 billion people.
That unit, called Sustainable Healthcare Solutions (SHS), is investing $300 million as part of a "multiphase effort" to develop more robust affordable care portfolios for customers in those regions.
By employing a multilateral approach to improving care, the SHS business intends to build unique relationships with each customer from the ground up. That will mean working side by side with governments, clinicians, private operators and NGOs in the interest of raising the bar on health care.
"We're looking more at creating a care pathway than a point solution approach," Terri Bresenham, the CEO of Sustainable Health Solutions for GE Healthcare, told HCB News. The business will leverage GE's Fastworks methodology to accelerate, test and rapidly commercialize relevant and affordable technologies.
Aside from equipment, Bresenham cites skills development and technological awareness as crucial factors that will be considered along the way in each location. She also believes breakthroughs in telecommunications, data analytics, and decision support will all contribute to the mission of improving access.
"From basic primary care delivery through to more complex, structural health care challenges, SHS will aim to combine GE Healthcare's capabilities and scale with the local know-how and expertise of our partners," said Bresenham.
It's a daunting task but, for Bresenham, the lack of established care models in many of those markets has a silver lining.
"One of the things that might be a mistake is to replicate the Western model of health care," she said. "When you don't have a lot of established systems it's easier to create new things."
The low-cost health care equipment sector is estimated to be worth over $8 billion and growing significantly as developing countries continue to invest in effective, long-term health care solutions to improve the health of their populations.
GE has a long history of engaging with emerging markets. Notably, its handheld ultrasound device, Vscan Access, has been used to
improve health outcomes in rural areas for maternal infant care.
