GE Medical Systems To Acquire iPath, Developer of Surgery Information Management Software.

Business Editors/Medical Writers

MILWAUKEE and POWELL, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2002

Agreement Creates First-Ever Paperless Operating Room Environment

for Patients, Clinicians

GE Medical Systems Information Technologies, a business of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire iPath, a developer of surgery information management software for healthcare facilities.

iPath will provide GE with increased surgery workflow solutions that extend its capability of providing healthcare organizations with the first-ever, totally digital operating room environment, designed to improve clinician efficiency and enhance patient safety and satisfaction.

GE's clinical information system offering, GE Centricity(TM) Enterprise, already creates a paperless patient medical record for the operating room and beyond. It integrates preoperative assessments, clinical reminders, exam results, vital signs monitoring, anesthesiologist documentation, and other clinical information together electronically in real-time.

"The acquisition of iPath's provides a complementary solution for GE Centricity, enabling us to deliver a fully automated workflow solution for clinicians, with scheduling and materials management solutions that create a smooth patient transition both in and out of surgery," said Greg Lucier, president and CEO of GE Medical Systems Information Technologies. "Together, our combined solution will help providers optimize workflow in a way that completely revolutionizes clinicians' speed and accuracy of delivering patient care before, during and even after admittance to the operating room."

On average, operating rooms are used only for 57 percent of their true capacity, and according to most experts, this utilization could be 80-85 percent with better electronic tools. The demand for these perioperative electronic tools is expected to climb to $250 million by 2005. Every minute in the operating room costs healthcare providers approximately $30 to $45.

"iPath provides a surgery workflow solution that combines all scheduling and materials management information electronically to help providers optimize the surgery experience," said Brian DeBusk, CEO at iPath. "Hospitals will be better able to make informed and effective business decisions that support clinical performance, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency, and cost reduction efforts."

iPath's ORMIS software is installed in more than 240 hospitals and was recently ranked by industry research firm KLAS Enterprises as number one in 15 of 18 categories in a survey conducted among 3,000 U.S. healthcare professionals. iPath received highest ranking for its commitment to quality in several areas, including software, training, implementation, and customer service support. GE plans to integrate the iPath technology into GE's Centricity clinical information system in the near future. In addition, healthcare providers will continue to be able to purchase iPath software as a stand-alone solution.

"iPath's industry-respected solution together with GE Centricity will be the industry's first-ever integrated, end-to-end totally digital solution for the entire surgery experience--from the time the decision is made for the patient to go to surgery to the time the patient goes home," said Vik Kheterpal, M.D., vice president of clinical information systems at GE Medical Systems Information Technologies. "It really facilitates a smoother, safer transition through the hospital for patients, because clinicians have all the information necessary to make better decisions and optimize their workflow."

iPath software enables OR managers and perioperative service directors to track, for example, how long each patient is scheduled to be in surgery based on the type of procedure, who the surgeon will be, and the types of resources needed to conduct the surgery. The software can even alert nurses with an automatically pre-selected list of resources needed for the surgery, based on the surgeon's historical preference and surgery needed.

Over the last several years, GE Medical has invested more than $1.5 billion in technologies to help hospitals better manage clinical workflow. On January 24, 2002, GE announced an agreement to acquire MedicaLogic, a leading provider of electronic medical records (EMR) for patients treated in care areas outside the hospital, or outpatient settings, to extend its EMR capability beyond hospitals into the entire healthcare network.

The acquisition of iPath, which is subject to customary approvals, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

GE Medical Systems Information Technologies

GE Medical Systems Information Technologies provides hospitals and healthcare systems with advanced software and technologies to improve their clinical performance. The Company's expertise spans the areas of cardiology, patient monitoring, image management, clinical communications, clinical information systems and Six Sigma-based management tools to enable a real-time, integrated electronic medical record. GE Medical Systems Information Technologies is a business of GE Medical Systems, an $8 billion global leader in medical imaging and technology. Additional information about GE Medical Systems can be found at www.gemedical.com.

About iPath

iPath is a premier developer of surgical information management software designed to address the evolving clinical and business needs of today's surgical department. iPath's software, implementation services, customer support, and training work in harmony to help hospital administrators and end users make informed and effective business decisions that support clinical performance, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency, and cost reduction efforts. iPath is based in Powell, Tenn. For more information, visit www.ipathsoftware.com.