It’s a fairly basic setup: data from mobile devices connects to GE Healthcare’s MUSE Cardiology Information System. Specifically, real-time electrocardiograms taken from AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L ECG device remotely upload via a smartphone app to an electronic medical record (EMR) that physicians can access. As simple as that connection seems, it represents a significant shift in health monitoring, with consumer devices now fully integrated into the workflow of physicians and clinicians.
The aim of this unique partnership between GE Healthcare and AliveCor is to reduce hospitalizations caused by cardiac issues. AliveCor’s AI-enabled ECG device helps to detect a range of heart arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that carries a higher risk of stroke and is responsible for more than 454,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year, as well as about 158,000 deaths.
How does the AliveCor device work? To take an ECG using the KardiaMobile 6L, one just needs to open an app on their smartphone, place their thumbs atop a small bluetooth-connected device, and press that device against their left knee or ankle. That’s it! No gel, no wires, no having to leave the comfort of your home to record an accurate ECG or deliver the results to your doctor. This regularly updated data can give physicians and other healthcare professionals a detailed picture of one’s cardiac health over time that’s inherently more accurate than looking at intermittent ECG information taken during occasional office visits.
As for the reach of this technology, 87% of the leading hospitals that offer cardiac care in the United States use GE Healthcare’s MUSE system, which connects directly with the EMRs of individual hospitals. To take this tech one step further, GE Healthcare’s algorithms automatically analyze the uploaded ECGs, offering this analysis to any doctor or clinician who is in the network.
This collaboration with AliveCor is part of GE Healthcare’s Edison intelligence platform, which uses different applications to collect data from varying sources for assimilation and integration into a variety of workflows. From your smartphone to your doctor’s fingertips, the future of healthcare data is getting ever more interconnected.
Can I get a monitoring system to wear for my doctor’s report? And I’m 65 triple heart bypass. Would Medicare or Medicare. Cover it
Tommy, I don’t know of any such programs, but check with your cardiologist to see if there is a system that could be prescribed for you. It’s also possible that if you’re a Medicare Advantage subscriber, your program might have some options to provide some sort of monitor.
All the best,
Alfred Poor, Editor
Health Tech Insider