I have posted a number of previous notes about GE Medical's interest in, and publicity about, the early health model (EHM). I have speculated in these notes about the significance of this new approach to healthcare delivery and its tight links to molecular medicine. My first impression about the EHM was that it would be both a marketing slogan and business strategy that would be pursued primarily in countries with sophisticated healthcare delivery systems. This turns out not to be the case as illustrated in a recent article about GE's participation in the development of turn-key hospitals in the Middle East and Africa (see: GE Healthcare Signs Mou With Saudi German Hospitals Group). Below is an excerpt from the article (boldface emphasis mine):
In response to the strong demand for affordable, quality and readily available medical services within the Africa continent, GE Healthcare...has signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi German Hospitals Group (SGH), to provide diagnostic imaging equipment for not-for-profit hospitals in the Middle East and Africa region. Plans are that these 5,000 square meter sized not-for-profit hospitals will have 50 beds each, to be located in remote areas in Africa and the Middle East. The vision is that these sites will provide more affordable, reliable and more accessible primary healthcare services to larger segments of society....SGH’s contribution is to design, construct, equip, operate, and co-finance these hospitals. GE Healthcare’s involvement is the donation of some of the necessary diagnostic imaging equipment including X-ray machines, ECG monitors, and ultrasound devices. Isam Moursy, General Manager at GE Healthcare for the Middle East region added, “Together, we’re developing innovative healthcare solutions to help address some of today’s most pressing healthcare issues such as improving access to quality care in rural communities and developing regions of the world and, in developed regions, shifting to an ‘early health’ model of care.
I find this announcement by GE interesting on several counts. Here are some of my early thoughts:
- A very large percentage of the world's population has little or no access to modern healthcare. It makes perfect sense for a global healthcare diagnostics company like GE Medical to begin to participate in the development of small turn-key hospitals in rural areas in developing countries. Such facilities could also serve as test-beds for the cost-efficient delivery of diagnostic services. In fact, some of the lessons learned in such hospitals could potentially be recycled to developed countries where the rapidly rising cost of care is causing calls for reform of the system.
- Note the reference in the article to the fact that some of the diagnostic imaging equipment for these new hospitals will be donated by GE. These new hospitals in Africa and the Middle East could provide a home for older devices that can't be sold elsewhere. In time, however, they could also evolve into purchasers of new equipment designed and manufactured specifically for developing countries.
- Finally, it's interesting that the early health model now seems to be transforming into a more generalized approach to integrated diagnostics and not just a strategy for sophisticated healthcare markets. Even standard medical imaging modalities have the potential to yield early diagnoses of course. It looks like the early health model may thus have even greater utility than I originally thought.
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