Hospitals in the Middle East are set to benefit from sophisticated electronic clinical decision support following a new commercial agreement between First DataBank International (FDB International) and GE Healthcare (GE). This new agreement builds on the relationship which First DataBank has with GE Healthcare’s Information Technology business in the US.

GE’s Centricity® Enterprise, will provide Middle Eastern customers with electronic dispensing and prescribing functionality, with clinical decision support enabled by the integration of FDB International’s drug knowledge base. Healthcare providers can use Centricity® Enterprise to help verify the medication about to be prescribed or dispensed to a patient against the patient’s profile. On-screen alerts help a provider to determine if there may be a potential drug interaction, duplicate therapy, sensitivity, contraindication or precaution.

Centricity® Enterprise is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative system that helps caregivers provide enhanced patient care through computerized physician order entry (CPOE), clinical decision support and expert rules, while documenting all aspects of patient care. The system integrates core clinical processes for orders, results, pharmacy and care documentation, in concert with administrative/financial processes for scheduling, registration/admitting, charging and billing.

“This agreement gives us access to invaluable information which will immediately benefit our product,” said Juergen Reyinger, EMEA vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare IT. “We look forward to working with First DataBank International in growing our solution and benefiting from their strengths, just as they will surely benefit from ours.”

David Flavell, President, FDB International adds: “The Middle East is a key region in our international expansion plans as its healthcare systems are developing so rapidly. Our agreement with GE is significant as it will bring more advanced clinical decision support to hospitals in the region, helping providers to enhance patient safety by helping them reduce the occurrence of medical errors.”

First DataBank continues to expand its global presence with customers across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Australasia, Africa and Europe as well as continuing to grow its long established North American and UK markets.