GE Healthcare Launches Centricity Business 5.1

Next-generation Enterprise Revenue Cycle Management Solution Built to Address Healthcare Reform Challenges

BARRINGTON, Ill. – GE Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare information technology, today launched Centricity* Business 5.1, the next generation healthcare revenue cycle management solution. Aimed at integrated delivery networks, hospitals, and large practices, Centricity Business 5.1 features new capabilities to address emerging reimbursement models – shared savings, capitation, and bundled payments – as well new task management and clearinghouse enhancements to help drive greater profitability, efficiency and enhanced quality of care.

“The healthcare industry is in the midst of a perfect storm of change,” said Nancy Fabozzi, Senior Industry Analyst, Healthcare, Frost & Sullivan. “Changes in healthcare reimbursement reform are driving organizations to re-evaluate not only their business strategies but how they deliver care. Revenue cycle management solutions are critical investments for hospitals, physician practices, and integrated delivery networks. Providers will need to invest in revenue cycle technology that drives improvements in critical metrics such as A/R days and collection rates while helping them manage new reimbursement models like bundled payments, shared savings, and capitation.”

Centricity Business 5.1 is a new release that builds up the solution’s core foundation of delivering a high-performing, enterprise-ready revenue cycle management solution that seamlessly interoperates with key clinical systems. Centricity Business is used by hundreds of leading healthcare organizations – including 13 of the top 17 hospitals in the July 16, 2012 US News & World Report “2012-13 Best Hospitals Honor Roll” (http://bit.ly/U8JhpC).

“Declining reimbursements and healthcare reform are some of the biggest challenges we face today,” said Julie Castongia, Director of GE Systems, HealthCare Partners (Torrance, Calif.). “Centricity Business provides us with the flexibility to adapt to evolving payment models – for example, it has supported our ability to participate in an Accountable Care pilot project. Furthermore, Centricity Business’ interoperability capabilities and open platform allow us to connect seamlessly with other IT systems, positioning our organization for growth.”

Centricity Business 5.1 builds on the core features that were released with GE’s Centricity Business 5.0 release last year. Specifically, key enhancements in this release include:

• New workflows to simplify setup, scheduling, and charge segregation of bundled payments

• Extension of task management capabilities into hospital settings to help drive workflow consistency across the enterprise

• Improvements to Managed Care Application to increase billing automation in capitation settings

• New electronic clearinghouse transactions to extend connectivity between hospitals and payers and help reduce incidence of late payments

• Technology enhancements like proactive monitoring and security simplification to reduce touch and improve revenue cycle efficiencies

“Built on more than 40 years of revenue cycle management experience, this release was developed to help our customers address the key financial challenges associated with U.S. healthcare reform,” said Michael Friguletto, Vice President and General Manager of GE Healthcare IT. “Centricity Business 5.1 will enable customers to achieve greater profitability, efficiency and enhanced quality of care.”

Centricity Business 5.1 is now generally available. To learn more about Centricity Business, visit www.gehealthcare.com/centricitybusiness, and learn how it can help organizations get ready for payment reform at http://youtu.be/5GAbbrz-sk4.

GE Healthcare also announced today the upcoming launch of Centricity EDI 6.0, a proven all-payer clearinghouse with new analytics capabilities to help customers accelerate cost to collect and increase staff productivity. Centricity EDI Services 6.0 is expected to be available in early 2013.

*Centricity is a registered trademark of General Electric Company.

Descriptions of future functionality reflect current product direction, are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a commitment to provide specific functionality. Timing and availability remain at GE’s discretion and are subject to change.
Notes to Editors

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 around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are 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.

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