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Source: gehealthcare.comMilwaukee GE Healthcare will provide digital imaging systems to the English government to power its electronic health-care initiative, the company announced on Monday.

Englands National Health Service wants to install systems nationwide to allow medical images to be transmitted among hospitals so that experts can look at them on demand. It will spend about $18 billion. The deal with GE Healthcare is valued around $200 million.

GE Healthcare is based in the United Kingdom, but Milwaukee-headquartered GE Healthcare Technologies is developing the systems, spokesperson Andrea Kozek said.

• This May, a $7 million package from Governor Doyle helped keep GE Healthcare in Wisconsin

GE is providing Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) as the main element of this project, she said. This technology allows physicians to quickly display medical images and provide diagnosis based upon review of these images, using an all electronic means with no film. Additionally, GE will be providing the implementation services and support for these systems for the term of the agreement.

GEs contract covers the southern region of England, which will include about a third of the total PACS, the company said.

Fujitsu Services, out of Japan, is the service provider for the region under Englands health plan. Fujitsu chose GE for the contract and said the systems would be in place by March 2007.

The size of the contract is likely to mean added jobs in both GEs U.S.-based organization and its local operation in England, Kozek said.

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Jason Stitt is WTNs associate editor and can be reached at jason@wistechnology.com.

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