GE provides healthcare software to Rio Games

A GE Healthcare platform will be used to store electronic medical records (EMR) in the provision of medical and treatment services to athletes at the Rio Olympic Games.

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The cloud-based version of GE Healthcare's Centricity Practice Solutions is intended to facilitate the capture of detailed medical information -- anything from scans to medications and allergies -- about athletes who visit medical posts at Games venues and the central clinic in the Olympic Village.

The GE system had already been used by Team USA at the Olympic Games London 2012 and the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. The results -- which included a 60 percent annual reduction in surgical procedures reported by the United States Olympic Committee -- have prompted the International Olympic Committee to use the EMR platform for the Rio Games.

According to GE, the software will ensure smoother handling of patients and their data as they are seen by different personnel in medical services, from the initial consultation through to more specialized treatment.

The system can also be used to improve medical diagnostics for athletes and generate data that can be used by coaches to develop strategies for improving performance.

Additionally, it is hoped that the system will facilitate data analysis and subsequent research on mitigation of injury and illness in sport.