RESEARCH

PAPER

GE
HEALTHCAR
E

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COMPANY BACKGROUND
GE Healthcare is a unit of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is a unit of General
Electric (GE). It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little
Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The CEO of GE Healthcare is John Dineen.
GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment headquartered outside the United States. In
2004, just before the completion of the $9 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Amersham plc,
the formerly named GE Medical Systems was renamed GE Healthcare.
GE Healthcare has a range of products and services that include medical imaging and
information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery,
and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies. From a brief period from the close of the
Amersham acquisition in April 2004 - June 2005, GE Healthcare was organized into two
primary business segments: GE Healthcare Technologies, led by Joseph Hogan, and GE
Healthcare Bio-Sciences, the former Amersham business segments that were led by Peter
Löscher. Those business segment names and organizations were formally dropped in June
2005.

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY TREND

Health care industry trends manifest an upward growth but several areas need to be attended
to for enhancing health care services for the common man.

Different countries like Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey and China comprise
approximately 1/5th of the worldwide health care sales. Health care industry trends also
suggest that the medical related conditions in the developing countries which are chronic in
nature, will be similar to the ones existing in the developed countries. In order to meet
international standards, the existing health care industry is required to alter the mode of
operation for generation of higher revenue and greater contribution to the Gross Domestic
Product of the country.

The worldwide healthcare market is influenced by a number of demographic trends,

including the following:

 Growing and Aging Population: The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that the majority of
the U.S. “baby boom” population (28% of the total U.S. population) will begin to turn
65 between 2010 and 2020
 Consumer expectations for improved healthcare are increasing in both developed and
developing countries
 Reimbursement and coverage of medical expenses by insurances companies and
employers are on the decline—customers/patients have to contribute more money
  Technology is giving rise to new clinical therapies, which in turn are addressing more
and more medical ailments and aiding in earlier diagnosis and prevention of diseases

Growing World-Wide Healthcare Spending Per Capita

FUTURE PROSPECTS IN HEALTHCARE

INDUSTRY
In the next 10 years, the healthcare market will focus on early diagnosis, digitized patient
information that can be accessed from numerous locations, and “total solution” selling that
contributes to healthcare productivity gains.

Early diagnosis and prevention is enabled by emerging diagnostic technologies. For example,
positron emission tomography (PET) is used to detect many kinds of cancer with great
accuracy. 

A “paperless” hospital is another emerging trend. Digital patient records enable doctors to
access patients’ records—wherever the doctor is. In a digitized hospital, healthcare providers
do not have to wait days for an x-ray to “come back from the lab” because the x-ray machine
is digital and the image is instantly available.

Hospitals are also moving away from purchasing point solutions and toward buying
equipment from different vendors that is interoperable and that has a uniform user interface.
Hospitals are developing internal networks that connect all diagnostic equipment that feeds
all patient information (e.g., computed tomography (CT) scans, x-rays, positron emission
tomography (PET) scans) over a network to data storage servers for instant access. This
drives medical equipment vendors to develop interoperable equipment that has a uniform user
interface. In effect, vendors are beginning to sell complete solutions that include not only the
diagnostic equipment but also the data storage servers as well as the interface software.
All these trends lead to an increase in healthcare productivity—this means more patients can
be put through the healthcare system by using better, faster diagnostic equipment, which
leads to early ailment diagnosis and treatment. When the paperless hospital becomes a reality,
productivity is further enhanced because of instant patient test results and records access.

COMPANY STRATEGY
Reinforcing GE Healthcare’s leadership has been its strong brand image based on high
quality, reliable and user-friendly products. This, together with the company’s customer
oriented approach, has enabled GE Healthcare to succeed in the extremely competitive global
medical imaging market.

One of the key factors for GE’s current success has been its commitment to R&D, technology
and product innovation with the company allocating nearly $1 billion annually for investment
into R&D. The company pioneered the introduction of PET scanners globally and has also
been very successful in introducing its PET scanners in Europe.

"As its revenue continues to increase, GE has focused on new developments such as the
introduction of 4D ultrasound scanners and the mobile PET/CT scanners, which have a
considerable application in the field of cancer diagnosis and staging," elaborates Ms.
Badrinarayanan. "GE has also provided certain modifications to its present modalities, thus
making them suitable for transportation over long distances."

Supporting the company’s competitive advance have been special operating mechanisms
such as Six Sigma measures, which control the quality and productivity of the business. High
quality technical training has elevated customer loyalty levels and further bolstered GE
Healthcare’s customer-friendly profile.

GE Healthcare has proven itself as one of the leading companies in five of seven different
product segments, which served as a basis for the Frost & Sullivan analysis of the European
mobile medical imaging market. Currently strong in the mobile X-ray and C-arms
equipment segments as well as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), GE Healthcare simply needs to make its
way to the top in the hand carried ultrasound (HCU) and mammography segments in order to
be acknowledged as a truly premier player in the industry

Three main focus areas are diagnostics that comprise most of their business in terms of
revenue, then life sciences and lastly the IT component. Their growth in life sciences and IT
have primarily been through acquisitions.

Getting into developing a bigger vision, we acquired Amersham four years ago and getting in
to IT, we acquired several companies in the last 10 years. In the Amersham acquisition this
component we call life sciences is primarily made up of products and services that help
scientists to research and develop therapies, unlock nature's secrets and also produce
therapies for the patients. They want to provide in this arena leading technologies that help
customers save time, money and save costs. They have leading expertise in proteins and we
are also developing products in genomics.
No matter how high the stakes, no matter how great the “stretch,” GE will do business only
by lawful and ethical means. When working with healthcare professionals, customers,
distributors, wholesalers and suppliers in every aspect of our business, we will not
compromise our commitment to integrity.

Organization structure @GE Healthcare

P’s OF GE HEALTHCARE
PRODUCT
GE Healthcare currently has 6 primary business units:
 GE Healthcare Global Diagnostic Imaging, headquartered
in Waukesha (near Milwaukee), Wisconsin, USA. The Diagnostic Imaging business
includes X-ray, digital mammography, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic
Resonance (MR) and Molecular Imaging technologies.
 GE Healthcare Clinical Systems, headquartered in Wauwatosa (suburb
of Milwaukee), Wisconsin, USA. This business provides a range of healthcare
 technologies and services for clinicians and healthcare administrators. It includes
ultrasound, ECG, bone densitometry, patient monitoring, incubators and infant warmers,
respiratory care and anaesthesia management. In collaboration with GE Healthcare, The
Wayne State University School of Medicine offers an integrated radiology curriculum
during its MD Program led by investigators of the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in
Microgravity study.  GE has donated over one million dollars of Logiq E Ultrasound
equipment for this study. 
 GE Healthcare IT, headquartered in Barrington, Illinois, USA.  Healthcare IT
provides clinical & financial information technology solutions such as departmental IT
products, RIS/PACS (Radiology Information Systems/Picture Archiving and
Communication Systems) and CVIS (Cardiovascular Information Systems), as well as
revenue cycle management and practice applications.
 GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics, headquartered in Little Chalfont,
Buckinghamshire, UKA. Medical Diagnostics researches, manufactures and markets
imaging agents used during medical scanning procedures to highlight organs, tissue and
functions inside the human body.
 GE Healthcare Life Sciences, headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden. This division
produces technology for drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and cellular
technologies. It also makes systems and equipment for the purification of
biopharmaceuticals.
 GE Healthcare Surgery, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. This provides
tools and technologies for cardiac, surgical and interventional care, from cardiac
catheterization labs, diagnostic monitoring systems, data management systems to mobile
fluoroscopic imaging systems, navigation and 3D visualization instrumentation.
While it has offices around the globe, GE Healthcare has major regional operations in
Buc (suburb of Paris), France; Budaors (suburb of Budapest), Hungary , Hino 
& Tokyo, Japan; Helsinki ,Finland; and Bangalore, India.

PRICING
GE Healthcare customers include government entities, group purchase organizations,
individual hospitals and integrated hospital networks, clinics and pharmacies. These
customers use different mechanisms to solicit product prices.
Government Customers:
The Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) provides pricing for the largest government purchasers:
the Department of Defence, Department of Veteran Affairs, Coast Guard and Public Health
Services, which includes Indian Health, as well as other Government Agencies. Pricing is set
based on calculations legislated under the Veterans Healthcare Act Public Law 102-585.

Group Purchase Organizations and Integrated Delivery Networks

A Group Purchase Organization (GPO) is an entity authorized to act as a purchasing agent
and sign contracts for products and services on behalf of the members they serve, which in
our business is hospitals and imaging centres. GPO’s are not considered to be end users of
our products because they do not purchase products. Integrated Delivery networks (IDNs) are
a group of multiple hospitals typically under common ownership and governance. GPO and
IDN Pricing shall be set by the Director of Pricing and to Business Operations and the Vice
President of National Accounts in conjunction with the P&L Leaders of Medical Diagnostics.
All GPO and IDN requests for pricing should be directed to the National Account Director
responsible for that GPO or the in the case of an IDN to the Director of Strategic Accounts.
Individual Hospitals and Clinics
Pricing for this category of customers is set by the PSC and communicated to the field in
guidelines. Because this category represents a large population of customers with diverse
buying patterns who are subject to varying competitive conditions, it is critical that the PSC
have the most up to date information in establishing proper guidelines and exceptions thereto.
Pharmacy Pricing Pharmacy
Pricing is to be treated similar to all other pricing only the pharmacy manager is involved
and approves the Tap Form prior to submission to the PSC. No exceptions to GE Healthcare
Best Practices shall be allowed without Legal approval

PLACE
Various distribution systems are :
THERMOGENEIS CORP. Signed a new enhanced distribution agreement with GE
Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Co. for its AXP Auto Xpress System used in the
processing of cord blood. Under the revised distribution contract, which runs through July,
2012, GE Healthcare will continue to distribute the AXP product line, excluding certain
countries in Latin and South America, Asia, CIS and Eastern Europe.

BrainZ : Extends distribution agreement with GE Healthcare . BrainZ Instruments (ASX:

BZI) has extended its current distribution agreement with GE Healthcare.The current
agreement between BrainZ and GE Healthcare covers distribution of the BrainZ product line
which is focused around the BRM2 neonatal brain monitor. The agreement has been
expanded to include seven new Asian countries including India and Korea. These countries
are in addition to the USA, UK, Canada and 34 European and Middle Eastern territories
which are covered under the existing contract

HITHUNTER:The expansion of their agreement with DiscoveRx, which grants GE

Healthcare exclusive global distribution rights to HitHunter cAMP assays and provides the
customers with more options for cutting edge, high throughput screening technology.

DIRECT SUPPLY:GE Healthcare will use Direct Supply to distribute its GE QuietCare
product, according to a company announcement. GE QuietCare is a wireless, remote
monitoring system that tracks seniors' daily activities. Used primarily in assisted living
facilities, the product helps residents retain greater independence

PROMOTION
The advertising and promotion of pharmaceuticals serves an essential function in the
healthcare delivery system, allowing physicians to have the most current information about
the drugs that they prescribe. GE has two magazines Downstream and Discovery Matters.
These are available in digital form on their web site, but you can also have them sent to you in
printed form. GE Healthcare regularly conducts surveys to obtain their direct feedback. Listening to
their Customers provides essential input, not only for improving their product offering and features,
but also for how we as a supplier can better support their clients with clear product and application
information, ease of ordering and deliveries. The results of these surveys, along with information
from their day-to-day interaction with customers, have a direct impact on decisions they take.

STP
GE Healthcare customers include government entities, group purchase organizations,
individual hospitals and integrated hospital networks, clinics and pharmacies. These
customers use different mechanisms to solicit product prices.
Unifies all of GE Healthcare-bioscience, medical systems and information technology-under
one cohesive idea .Is a true and credible positioning for GE Healthcare because it is
supported by all of its products and services-the positioning translates to segments and
modalities Differentiates GE Healthcare from its competitors in the eyes of customers,
patients and employees Is an ownable positioning that provides GE Healthcare with a
promise that can be leveraged through communications Focused and coherent-it can pass the”
bumper sticker” test Connects to and enhances the overall GE positioning of “Imagination at
Work”. Lives in the present because it represents what GE Healthcare ‘is’ and bridges to the
future because it also makes a statement of what GE Healthcare ‘will be’
Its their ability to see more, to think ahead ,to continually envision a brighter future and
positive new realities. That's why, when imagination is applied to GE's medical technologies
and advanced biosciences ,the result goes beyond new discoveries and ideas-the result,in
fact ,is helping transform healthcare itself.
Its a transformation that lets them work with the partners in healthcare, to fuel their passion to
discover, And perhaps even more importantly help them predict, diagnose, inform and treat
like never before ,so patients can experience what we call early health, a more holistic view
which focuses on early prevention as opposed to early diagnosis.
At GE Healthcare they are not just inventing, they are re-inventing
CUSTOMERS
GE Healthcare's customers include

 hospitals,
 medical facilities,
 pharmaceutical and
 biotechnology companies,
 and the life science research market worldwide.

GE’s eHealth business is delivering value to clinicians and patients in four fundamental
ways:

Patient Health Records –

As consumers are increasingly engaged in their healthcare decisions, secure and reliable
access to medical histories is critical. LifeSensor patient health record provides a web-based
system designed with privacy and security features that allow consumers to access their
health histories and to collaborate with care providers. With LifeSensor, consumers can now
better understand and direct their own health and wellness plans and leverage the LifeSensor
tools for managing chronic disease, nutrition and fitness to help promote lifelong well-being.
LifeSensor patient health record is the result of seven years of development by GE’s strategic
partner InterComponentWare (ICW) and integrates with GE’s Centricity HIE solutions.

Health Information Sharing –

The heart of the eHealth business, GE’s standards-based Centricity Health Information
Exchange (HIE) infrastructure helps enable clinical data from disparate information systems,
including medication history, laboratory results, radiology images and referrals to be shared
between clinicians in a secure and private manner, helping physicians gain a more complete
picture of a patient’s medical history. Today, GE’s Centricity HIE solutions are helping
states, Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) and healthcare systems aggregate
data across information silos.

Structured Clinician Views –

Information is only valuable if it is organized, accurate and logically conveyed. Leveraging a
deep understanding of caregiver requirements and workflows, the eHealth Clinical Portal
structures and displays information so that it is clear, understandable and useful to the
caregiver.

Robust Patient Identification and Matching –

It is essential that physicians and patients trust that clinical information is matched with the
right patient. GE’s Master Patient Index (MPI) technology provides a comprehensive solution
for matching patient records from diverse organizations. This technology helps to ensure that
information is accurately matched, and is designed to maintain patient privacy.
“With eHealth, we’re working to develop standards-based infrastructure, a ground-breaking
suite of collaborative services and clinical decision support tools that will empower providers
and patients as never before,” said Earl Jones, recently named vice president and general
manager, GE Healthcare eHealth. “Integrating disparate data into a single, accurate clinical
picture, turning this integrated clinical picture into insight, and making that insight available
to caregivers across offices and institutions in real-time will transform the way healthcare is
delivered.” GE eHealth solutions are driving value for customers today by providing
customers collaborative charting across institutions, patient medication histories, and
centralized services such as physician referral, and laboratory, radiology and image
information exchange.

COMPEITION
The overall medical devices market in India is around $3 billion and of this around $550 to
600 million is the diagnostics space which is clocking a compounded annual growth rate of
13 to 14 per cent. Net healthcare market is around $45 to 50 billion, and there is huge
potential for growth in the diagnostics space where the density is quite low now. We plan to
grow by around 30 per cent in revenues this year compared to a 15 per cent growth in 2009.
GE Healthcare follows a calender year fiscal.
DIFFERENTIATION FROM COMPETITORS

First of all, it starts with the strong history of technology and GE's portfolio of acquisitions.
Each of the acquisitions has an enormous history, whether it is Pharmacia, Amersham,
Biacore or Wave Biotech. These companies had significant presence and now we are trying
to be good shepherds of those technologies. GE has a lot to offer in terms of its progress in a
couple of areas. One is business operations that are focused on delivering exceptional service
and exceptional value to customers and focusing on helping customers become more lean. If
you look at our significant presence through the last 20 years, we were one of the first
companies to be in India and that way science will benefit from that because we are being
pushed not by our competitors but our businesses. If you look at, for instance, our new ECG,
the MAC 400, that product was developed in India and now is being produced by the Indian
product managers in a facility that is of global standard. They provide world class quality and
reliability wherever we operate.

The major competitors of GE healthcare are:

PHILIPS HEALTHCARE
Strategy:Healthcare has now become the company’s main area of growth through innovative
products, like our CT and MRI scanners, and new concepts such as our Ambient Experience
solutions that help improve the treatment of patients in hospitals and raise productivity. They
are also realizing growth through alliances and takeovers. Through their alliance with
Schering they are extending the field of operations into optical imaging techniques, and they
are further exploring the promising field of molecular imaging together. The worldwide
interest in health and wellbeing as the driving force behind the next phase of economic
growth in the developed world. Above all what makes them unique: focus on people as
consumers, patients and care providers. In this respect they are clearly more than just a
supplier of medical systems. Hospitals are extremely important. The ambition, however, is to
participate in the entire cycle of healthcare: prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment
and remote care for patients in their homes. Positioning also fits in perfectly with the trend
towards prevention as opposed to cure; and also the trend towards enhancing one’s own
health and wellbeing through one’s own lifestyle and decisions.The innovative market
approach for the bottom of the pyramid is DISHA, Distance Healthcare Advancement.
DISHA is a new form of access to healthcare for the rural population of India

AGFA INDIA
Strategy: The healthcare group, with a size of 1.5-billion euro, has four business segments —
classic imaging, hard copy imaging, computerised radiography and image networking. Rs
170-crore subsidiary would further its investments in the country. It has been investing
around Rs 5 crore per annum on expanding its market share.
Agfa India is consolidating its position in classic imaging and currently has 12 sites in the
country. It is looking for the first luminary site for picture archiving and communication
systems (PACS) during the current year. Agfa India recently bagged an order from World
Bank for supplying digital X-ray films to 250 hospitals in Andhra Pradesh . Keeping in view
the inadequate funding support from banks and financial institutions to the healthcare
segment, which is yet to obtain the industry status, Agfa India had been arranging for finance
through OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).
MAQUET MEDICAL INDIA PVT Ltd.

Strategy: The Maquet Group, which is a part of GETINGE and represents the Getinge
“Medical Systems” business area, covers critical care, surgical workplaces like the surgical
tables, lights and ceiling service units business known by the ALM, Hanau and Heraeus Med
brands and cardio-pulmonary like the heart lung machines, oxygenators and other disposables
business related to open heart surgery, known by the Jostra and Polystan brands. GETINGE
is a leading global provider of equipment and systems to customers within health care,
extended care and pharmaceutical industries and laboratories. The MAQUET Group
comprises of 2600 employees globally with presence in 22 countries including India. The
company has over 200 international distributors and manufacturing sites in France, Germany
and Sweden The company’s focus keeps it closer to customers needs, helping it identify and
understand clinical challenges better. The newly found focus of Maquet India motivates it to
address the need of professionals in the Critical Care & OR Environment more vigorously.
The team at Maquet India aims to deliver to the expectations, to optimize the utilization of its
technology. This is just a way ahead that it foresees in the near future.
SIEMENS HEALTHCARE
Strategy:Siemens Healthcare is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare
industry. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of care – from
prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care. The company employs more
than 48,000 people worldwide and operates in 130 countries. Total healthcare business $16.1
Billion ($111.6B total).The firm develops clinical lab equipment and integrated solutions for
routine chemistry testing, immunodiagnostics (including infectious disease testing),
hemostasis testing and microbiology the items that hit the market during the last fiscal year
include the 1.5 Tesla (T) Magnetom Essenza, a magnetic resonance imaging system that is
considerably less expensive than other 1.5T systems.
TOSHIBA
Strategy:Toshiba Medical Systems Group Companies shall supply products, systems and
services (hereinafter called “products and services”) that are based on voice of customer and
comments and that satisfy customer needs and requirements, and which comply with laws,
regulations and contracts.
Quality assurance:
 Observe all applicable laws and regulations, as well as contracts related to production,
technology and quality assurance; and
 Promote constant technological innovation and product improvement and supply safe
and high quality products and services that meet customers’ needs and incorporate the
most advanced technologies.
Marketing and sales:
 Deliver superior products and services that meet customer needs and requirements,
and conduct marketing and sales activities in compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations; and

 Recognize the value of information as an asset and endeavor to protect information on

third parties (including trade secrets of other companies and personal data) obtained
through marketing and sales.
Procurement:
 Comply with all applicable laws and regulations and pay due consideration to the
environment; and
 Provide suppliers (hereinafter including prospective suppliers) with equal
opportunities for transactions with Toshiba Medical Systems Group.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Communication
They need to be better at communicating about new products and innovations, as well as
about events such as seminar tours and promotional campaigns.