GE Healthcare and Alliance Medical, an imaging provider in Europe and the U.K., will use advanced data analytics and AI solutions to help British radiology departments bolster their productivity.

The two are working on a digital solution that will streamline daily management and apply proactive problem solving to high-patient volumes, schedule disruptions and inconsistent processes. They are aiming to open up patient access to diagnostics and establish standardization within practices, while reducing staff burnout.

To do this, the two will use multiple data analytics tools and remote collaboration products designed by GE Healthcare to help radiology departments optimize operations, introduce more consistency, facilitate virtual collaborations with experts and make care more cost-effective and faster. Alliance Medical will provide clinical expertise on patient care, daily management of patient pathways and problem solving.

“The future of healthcare information is around how to manage and collate data to improve the decision-making, patient pathways and ultimately, in the case of radiology, speed of diagnosis. A digital partnership like this offers a new level of visibility to radiology departments to help manage the high patient volumes,” Simon McGuire, general manager of GE Healthcare Northern Europe, told HCB News.

Among the tools that will be used is GE’s Imaging Growth Tile, an AI app in its Command Centre Software Platform that will use real-time data from Alliance Medical’s sites to predict equipment utilization and provide insights for optimizing scheduling. The companies also plan to minimize radiation dosage, coordinate care better across multiple sites and use advanced data and AI to determine no-shows and improve access to care. “We are working across CT, MR and PET/CT modalities within Alliance Medical across multiple sites, bringing together a wide range of expertise,” said McGuire.

The two previously partnered with one another in a £45 million (over $55 million) collaboration to supply more than 70 medical imaging systems for oncology, cardiology and neurological care over three years. They also are working on a model to speed up cancer diagnoses, and Alliance Medical supports GE's Edision Accelerator program, which helps startups grow by pairing them with experienced providers. Alliance Medical is working with startups currently to validate AI algorithms as part of the program.

The new partnership between both companies builds on these previous collaborations. While currently focused on the U.K., GE and Alliance Medical plan to expand their work to other countries and worldwide regions. “Radiology departments are facing significant challenges, with severe staff shortages being exacerbated by lengthening patient backlogs. The result is demand exceeding the capacity to deliver. There is no solution to this problem without innovation, which is exactly what this partnership with GE Healthcare is all about,” said Richard Evans, managing director of Alliance Medical, in a statement.

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