GE Healthcare and Medtronic will work together to help providers better address growing demand in outpatient settings.
GE Healthcare and Medtronic are combining solutions and strategies to help providers care for the growing number of outpatients.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many procedures to shift into outpatient environments and as a result, created growth in ambulatory surgery centers and office-based labs. Additionally, the approval by CMS of payments for cardiovascular procedures in 2020 led to an increase in ASCs and OBLs utilizing fixed C-Arm imaging systems.
As a result, demand for more equipment and resources has risen among providers who do not want to compromise quality of care outside of hospitals. But building a new ASC or expanding an existing one is complex and often very expensive, says Jim Rapp, vice president of Interventional Imaging at GE Healthcare. "With a predicted increase in outpatient cardiology and peripheral vascular procedures over the coming years, industry leaders like GE Healthcare need to understand and meet the unique needs of ASCs and OBLs. Our collaboration with Medtronic is one aspect of our efforts to strengthen efficiency, workflow, and clinical outcomes for ASCs and OBLs who work with GE Healthcare.”
An ASC is defined by CMS as a facility-based place of service, which is the same designation for inpatient and outpatient hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and military treatment facilities. An OBL is a non-facility-based place of service, along with public and rural health clinics and mobile health units. But clinical and regulatory environments for ASCs and OBLs are different, and some OBLs may perform ASC-type procedures due to negotiations with private payers.
To help providers attend to patients in these settings, GE will supply imaging, monitoring and ultrasound solutions and provide consultative planning and construction. It also will employ digital solutions, including its Edison-powered AutoRight AI-based interventional imaging chain which helps clinicians scan a quality image at the right dose automatically.
Medtronic will offer a range of service lines in the ASC and OBL, including for cardiac rhythm, pain management, peripheral vascular and kyphoplasty. It will continue to provide the same services for customers, as well as reimbursement support and remote solutions.
“Our collaboration with GE Healthcare was formed to better serve the growth of our ASC and OBL customers with extensive technologies and dedicated teams who have expertise in outpatient services and can address all aspects of this evolving sector,” said Adam King, senior director of U.S. Enterprise Accounts and Ambulatory Surgery Centers at Medtronic.
