GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) reportedly confirmed that it’s getting out of the hospital electronic medical records business, aiming for a "graceful transition" for customers using its Centricity Enterprise EMR system.
"We are working closely with Centricity Enterprise customers to help them transition to a solid and effective acute care EMR," Jon Zimmerman, general manager of clinical business solutions at GE Healthcare, told MedCity News last week.
The decision to phase out Centricity Enterprise 3 years ago, the website reported, but GE Healthcare hasn’t decided whether to sell it off or just help customers shift to vendors they choose.
"The market is dominated by a few large vendors," Zimmerman said. "Is it in the best interest of our customers, shareholders and employees to [be] in a market where competitors are clearly ahead, or should we recognize the situation and go to where the market is growing?”
GE Healthcare, which reported its 1st-quarter results last week, is instead "doubling down" on ambulatory EMR products in the Centricity lineup, Zimmerman told the website. Centricity Enterprise product generated about 5% of total electronic medical records revenue, he said.
GE Healthcare reported a -2.9% sales decline to $4.08 billion for the 3 months ended March 31,but still managed to eke out a 3.0% bottom-line gain with profits of $587 million, compared with the same period last year.