Advocate Healthcare Joins the Low Dose Committment with GE Blueprint

SOURCE: GE Healthcare

The GE Blueprint for low dose program today added another top health system to its list of commitments with the addition of Advocate Health Care, the largest integrated healthcare system in Illinois. Announced in early September at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Oak Brook, Ill., the GE Blueprint is a joint effort to further reduce patients’ radiation dose in Computed Tomography (CT) imaging by up to 50 percent*.

Leveraging a team led by ‘Low Dose Architects’, the goal of Blueprint is to help clinicians optimize care for patients needing imaging procedures by reducing radiation where possible without adversely impacting the diagnostic value of the resulting image. These goals will be achieved through further investment in advanced imaging technology and dose management software, redesigned scanning protocols, healthcare facility processes and review, and training.

“Advocate Health Care is committed to delivering the best health outcomes for our patients,” said John Anastos, D.O., chairman of radiology at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. “By providing the best-in-class diagnostic capabilities, and leveraging advanced technologies to capture the highest-quality CT images, we ensure all of our patients receive the lowest possible radiation dose in each and every procedure.”

Dr. Anastos was joined by Steve Gray, vice president and general manager of CT & Advantage Workstation for GE Healthcare, and Dr. Jeff Hersh, Chief Medical Officer for GE Healthcare Systems. GE Healthcare has long collaborated with healthcare providers as they work to continuously reduce radiation dose in CT imaging.

Through this program, GE Healthcare continues to work towards its healthymagination vision of improving the cost, quality and access of healthcare for patients around the world. The GE Blueprint for low dose builds upon GE Healthcare’s announcement last November of over $800 million in low dose technology investment over 15 years.

Advocate operates more than 250 sites of care, including 10 acute care hospitals, two integrated children’s hospitals, five Level I trauma centers, two Level II trauma centers, one of the area’s largest home health care companies and one of the region’s largest medical groups.

For more information on GE Blueprint, please visit www.gehealthcare.com/GEBlueprint. For more information about Advocate, visit http://www.advocatehealth.com/

*GE Blueprint’s goal is to work with healthcare providers to reduce their average patient exposure by up to 50 percent, based on longitudinal tracking of average dose. The dose reduction goal is the result of a comprehensive program covering a full array of dose reduction principles. It is not solely based on equipment features. Individual site achievement will vary and any percentage reduction is dependent on the initial baseline for that site. In all cases diagnostic image quality must be maintained.