From the January/February 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

When asked if radiologists are now coming to GE with suggestions of what engines to include, Miller explained that the responses are mixed. Some radiologists want AI that reads and highlights the normal studies, but they still need to be involved in clinical decisions. This is because the AI currently cannot ‘decide’ what treatment is best for a patient, as it does not understand lab data, genomic data, and personalized history data. Technology is still most useful for increasing productivity while minimizing errors. Further, there is a willingness for providers to pay a premium if the AI feature is enabled within other products that are already in use. They want the technology placed into their workflow through either PACS orchestration or on device. Of this AI, some is developed in-house, and some is from a third party, incorporated into the solutions. When asked about the quantity split between the two, Miller explained that a significant share is developed in-house, but that monthly more and more third parties are being evaluated for the Edison ecosystem. As a result, customers can trial new applications without stepping outside the platform. Miller said they expect to see a significant increase in this over time. Christian O’Connor, Imaging GM EMEA at GE Healthcare, added that it is in the best interest of the industry to continue to crowdsource the development of AI. This is because it improves the speed to market and the impact on specific applications. To add to the question, he commented that there are currently 24 engines on Edison with least 50 other systems in the queue for consideration. He says that combined, this AI network is helping providers and suppliers identify the use cases where AI is actually needed.

The influence of outcome-based language in RFPs
When asked if they were seeing outcome-based language in tenders, O'Connor commented that there was an increase in non-price criteria, but this is still fairly limited in the US. He explained that the EMEA market is a 60+% tender driven market and that many companies do have some value-based intent, but these do not often manifest in the final procurement decisions. This is due, in part to the difficulty of defining value—it could be productivity, it could be financial, every institution defines it a little differently. Once the institution’s definition is clear, the next step is figuring out how to measure that value. Even though many health systems have the ambition to achieve these steps, their processes are lagging. Miller added that 80% of the US healthcare cost is labor. So, even with a significantly reduced price for equipment, health systems are missing out on a great deal of cost reduction opportunity if labor efficiency is not part of the criteria.

January/February 2022 Magazine

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