GE Healthcare and Frost & Sullivan Indonesia Thought Leadership - Next Generation Imaging IT Forum Brings Together Experts to Discuss Innovative IT Solutions in Imaging Workflow

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GE Healthcare and Frost & Sullivan, on May 19 hosted the first Indonesia Thought Leadership – Next Generation Imaging IT forum at the Grand Senyiur Hotel, Balikpapan to discuss innovative IT solutions in imaging workflow in Indonesian hospitals. More than 80 representatives from Indonesian hospitals attended the forum.

Marc Foo, General Manager of GE Healthcare IT, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand said that diagnostic imaging radiologists are beginning to play a critical role in surgery and emergency care. "Therefore, diagnostic imaging radiologists need comprehensive, real-time patient data, as well as collaboration and consultation with peers to ensure reliable and timely diagnosis," he added.

"Radiologists need flexible imaging IT solutions that help address their day-to-day issues, such as the delay in image loading, need to move between workstations, image quality and frequent IT downtime," Foo added. While imaging IT has advanced significantly in the last three decades, there is still room for further technological innovation that empowers radiologists with the right information at the right time, he said.

"Frost & Sullivan is delighted to jointly host the Indonesia Thought Leadership – Next Generation Imaging IT forum with GE Healthcare to discuss about medical imaging transformation and innovative IT solutions in imaging workflow in Indonesian hospitals," said Rathanesh Ramasundram, Senior Consultant, Transformational Health, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan.

In her 'Medical Imaging Transformation in Indonesia' presentation, Ramasundram noted that demand for diagnostic testing in Indonesia's public hospitals increased after the launch of Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), a national health insurance system introduced by the Government. She added that in line with the demand for healthcare services, medical imaging procedure volumes have also increased multi-fold. "Rising incidence of chronic conditions has increased disease complexity and co-morbidity, requiring radiologists to have access to and make sense out of far more complex patient information than before. With only 2,240 radiologists, the acute workforce shortage in Indonesia has led to a huge increase in clinicians' daily workload," she said.

Ramasundram also said that in response to the increasing demand on care pathway workflow, Indonesian hospitals are moving towards digital imaging solutions including Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS).

She added that Indonesia needs to leverage on IT for radiology diagnostics to improve the quality and efficiency of health services.

Ramasundram also said that IT solutions can help to address isolated and rural health facilities for diagnostic radiology services and facilitate clinical real-time collaboration for faster diagnostic turnaround times for referring physicians and their patients.

At the panel discussion 'An In-Depth Look Into the Digital Imaging IT Footprint for Indonesia', Dr. Aziza Ghanie Ickson, Chairman of Indonesian College of Radiology said that without digital solutions, she would have to wait a few hours before getting the imaging files due to the manual system. At the same time, she needs to look for old images, medical records and research for other clinical findings in order to prepare a more detailed reading.

Dr. Raditya Utomo, General Diagnostic Radiologist, Premier Bintaro Hospital said that it will be very helpful if private hospitals and government hospitals can share data easily with the use of technology. "Hopefully, in future, imaging reports can be shared electronically between hospitals easily," he added.

Dr. Jacub Pandelaki, Secretary General Perhimpunan Dokter Spesialis Radiologi Indonesia (The Indonesian Society of Radiology) said that the total number of radiologists in Indonesia cannot support the growth of hospitals in Indonesia. He noted that geographically, Indonesia also has many islands and traffic congestion is a common problem in big cities such as Jakarta. Therefore, he added that there is an increasing need for technology to allow for remote access of images anywhere in case of emergency. 

He added that with today's more complex medical cases, radiologists need to have historical data of all the patients' records for better diagnostic.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems. Our 'healthymagination' vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United States, GE Healthcare is a $16 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries.

For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com

About Frost & Sullivan

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