Technology helps clinicians improve dose management to further reduce radiation in diagnostic imaging
Dunn, N.C. – May 28, 2013 – GE Healthcare today announced that Harnett Health is the first healthcare system in the Southeast to purchase GE Healthcare’s DoseWatch* technology, a new radiation dose-tracking and reporting solution that can help facilities analyze patient exposure levels over time and impact quality of care.
DoseWatch enables healthcare providers to evaluate and improve their dose management with technology to track and archive dosimetric data and generate statistical analysis by device, operator or protocol. The technology captures standardized dose information on Computed Tomography (CT), Interventional and X-ray systems to help providers better manage and optimize doses in diagnostic imaging procedures. DoseWatch supplements existing dose awareness technologies and can be used with equipment from various vendors. Currently, there are more than 100 installations of DoseWatch around the globe.
“Ensuring the highest standards of safety in the care we provide our patients is our top priority at Harnett Health,” said Dr. David Allison, Medical Director, Medical Imaging, Harnett Health. “DoseWatch is an important tool in our work to continually manage and reduce radiation doses in imaging, and is a technology we are proud to be among the first regionally to invest in for the benefit of the patients in our care.”
Harnett Health is a private, not-for-profit healthcare system and includes Betsy Johnson Hospital, a 101-bed hospital in Dunn, N.C.,and Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington, N.C., a new 50 private inpatient room facility with plans to expand in the future. Harnett Health was the first provider in the Carolinas region and the first healthcare system in the Southeast to purchase DoseWatch as a proactive measure to enhance patient care and reduce radiation imaging in diagnostic procedures.
“As an early adopter of the DoseWatch technology, Harnett Health is a proactive leader in dose management and patient care in diagnostic imaging,” said Mike Finnegan, U.S., Canada Commercial General Manager for Dose Services at GE Healthcare. “We are proud to support Harnett Health with solutions that help its clinicians work to manage radiation in diagnostic procedures and provide excellent patient care.”
Medical imaging technology – including CT – is a critical tool in helping physicians diagnose disease and has positively impacted millions of adults and children. Through collaboration with GE Healthcare and implementation of innovative imaging technologies and system-specific solutions like DoseWatch, Harnett Health will continue to lead in further reducing patient radiation doses while maintaining image quality in diagnostic procedures.
Growing clinical adoption of DoseWatch in the U.S. and internationally supports GE’s commitment to a more than $800 million investment in low-dose technologies over 15 years, as well as the unveiling of the GE Blueprint for low dose – an initiative that includes a commitment to help leading U.S. hospitals further reduce patient exposure to radiation doses in imaging procedures.
*Trademark of General Electric Company