WAUWATOSA, WI - GE Healthcare is one of the first providers to offer its Electronic Fetal Monitoring Interpretation and Management program complete with National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's (NICHD)'s latest 2008 terminology and interpretation. The latest changes incorporate terminology to describe uterine activity (e.g., tachysystole, normal, characteristics of uterine contractions), in addition to a recommendation to adopt a three-tier fetal heart rate interpretation system to help classify both abnormal and normal fetal heart rate tracings and a third category with tracings that can't be included in either of the other two categories.

This innovative program developed in cooperation with Frank Miller, M.D., FACOG and David Miller, M.D., FACOG, both leading experts in the field of fetal monitoring, emphasizes the importance of using standardized NICHD terminology to describe, communicate and interpret abnormal fetal heart rate tracings. It is designed specifically for physicians, midwives, nurses, residents and students in obstetrics, to enhance their knowledge of fetal monitoring.

"In 2005 and 2006, ACOG, AWHONN and ACNM endorsed the standardized definitions of fetal heart rate patterns proposed by the NICHD in 1997, said Dr. David Miller. "Agreeing to use a common language to describe fetal heart rate tracings paved the way for much needed standardization of fetal heart rate interpretation and management. The recently released 2008 NICHD Consensus Report goes beyond terminology and moves into the realm of FHR interpretation, with the addition of critical statements regarding the clinical significance of FHR variability and accelerations. The ultimate goal is to optimize outcomes and to minimize potential sources of preventable error in intrapartum fetal monitoring."

Descriptions and interpretations of electronic fetal heart rate patterns have suffered from a lack of a common language and often have led to inconsistent and inaccurate interpretation and management, according to Sara McMannus, Program Manager of GE Healthcare's Clinical Best Practice Education.

"Because we have adopted NICHD's latest standards, we believe participants in our EFM program are receiving the best possible information to visually interpret fetal heart rate patterns and improve their quality at the point of care," she said.

"In the world of professional liability, the best risk management is the delivery of quality medical care. My company's goal, and the goal of our insured obstetricians, is to send home healthy mothers with healthy babies," added recent program participant JoAnn Bienvenu, RNC, Director of Risk Management, Medical Assurance Company of Mississippi. "We believe that the GE Healthcare Fetal Monitoring Program contributes significantly to that end, and we have all of our physicians complete it online. The format allows the busy physician to complete the course at his or her convenience, and the method of reviewing information presented in earlier modules promotes continuity of learning."