Patients, Visitors and Care Providers Benefit from Secure, Reliable Voice and Data Communications WAUKESHA, Wis. & RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Uninterrupted 
communication within a hospital is a requirement for physicians, patients and visitors and is essential to quality care. Sprint and GE Healthcare announced today their collaboration to provide in-building wireless communications services to hospitals in North America. Patients, clinicians and hospital visitors will benefit from secure, reliable voice and data communications, supporting an environment conducive to higher levels of patient care.
communication within a hospital is a requirement for physicians, patients and visitors and is essential to quality care. Sprint and GE Healthcare announced today their collaboration to provide in-building wireless communications services to hospitals in North America. Patients, clinicians and hospital visitors will benefit from secure, reliable voice and data communications, supporting an environment conducive to higher levels of patient care. Historically, the use of mobile phones in hospitals has been limited due to unreliable wireless support and the risk of interference between wireless phones and medical equipment. Using the new combined offering, physicians and caregivers will be able to communicate amongst each other and securely access patient information from almost anywhere in the facility.
The new in-building cellular communications network from GE Healthcare and Sprint’s Custom Network Solution (CNS) team leverages GE’s CARESCAPE™ Enterprise Access™, a single, universal wireless platform powered by MobileAccess, and includes Sprint handsets. This solution will provide hospitals with a comprehensive platform for voice and data communications over secure cellular, Wi-Fi and telemetry infrastructure that requires only one installation. Using the combined offering, clinicians, patients and hospital visitors can communicate more efficiently and with ease.
“Sprint CNS provides scalable coverage and a high-capacity platform for wireless voice and data services on the Sprint National Network and Nextel National Network, enhancing the mobility and productivity of staff at hospitals and other businesses,” says Darlene Braunschweig, vice president of CNS at Sprint. “We are very excited to partner with GE Healthcare to provide differentiated and innovative mobile solutions that are critical for every business. This new solution facilitates constant communication of secure information amongst hospital staff; an aspect very critical to patient care.”
GE CARESCAPE Enterprise Access, built on the MobileAccess technology platform, enables critical patient data to be securely coordinated, managed and distributed without the type of communications failures, interference or interruptions that can be caused by un-integrated systems. It is designed to transparently incorporate new systems and services without the need to install parallel, standalone infrastructures. CARESCAPE Enterprise Access is part of GE Healthcare’s CARESCAPE portfolio, an integrated suite of patient monitoring devices, communications networks and IT systems designed to transform traditional patient monitoring data into clinical intelligence. The CARESCAPE portfolio, released in May 2007, reflects a new approach to patient monitoring that provides clinicians with the opportunity to act earlier in the care process when compared to traditional patient monitoring and communication methods.
“The CARESCAPE portfolio represents our commitment to providing customers with a wide range of products and services that work together to help clinicians improve patient care,” said Munesh Makhija, General Manager of Systems and Wireless for GE Healthcare’s Monitoring Solutions business. “Our agreement with Sprint reflects this commitment. By harnessing the power of in-building cellular communications, hospitals will be able to offer secure, reliable voice and data communications throughout a campus, which can support improved communication and ultimately, patient outcomes.”
Source: http://www.ge.com/
