Fujifilm Earns Best Overall Manufacturer by KLAS

Fujifilm earned recognition as the best overall manufacturer of medical equipment by health care vendor research firm KLAS.

Fujifilm’s score of 88.7 out 100 edged out incumbent Toshiba for the top spot, KLAS reported in a news release. Toshiba, which received a score of 87.6 this year, had been ranked best overall since 2008. GE Healthcare, Carestream, and Siemens rounded out the top five with scores of 86.5, 86.2, and 86.2, respectively.

The Best in KLAS awards are based on customer feedback, and recognize vendors that provide excellent services and product functionality. The report includes 3,765 provider evaluations, including interviews from executives, administrators, physicians, nurses, and managers. The best overall ranking is limited to vendors that have at least three separate products in three separate market segments.

The report also selected the Best in KLAS in specific medical equipment categories, including:

CT (64-slice+) - Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash (score: 90.0)
Digital X-ray - Shimadzu Radspeed (90.3)
MR (3T) - Siemens Magnetom Skyra (88.4)
MR (1.5T) -Siemens Magnetom Aera (90.8)
Mammography (digital) - Hologic Selenia Dimensions Breast Tomosynthesis (93.4)
Ultrasound (general imaging) - Philips iU22 (90.3)

The 2012 category leaders, which lead select market segments and must have at least two products that meet the criteria, include:

CR (single plate) - Fujifilm FCR Carbon X/XL (91)
CR (multi-plate) - Fujifilm FCR XG5000 (89.1)
CT (under 64-slice) - GE Healthcare BrightSpeed 16 (92.2)
MR (open) - Hitachi Oasis 1.2 T Bore-less High-field MRI (90.3)
PET/CT: GE Healthcare Discovery PET/CT series (90.6)

The KLAS report also noted that implementations in some market segments tend to be more successful than in others. Those with the lowest “go-live risk” are CT (under 64-slide), digital mammography, CV/IR X-ray, CT (64-slice+), and digital X-ray. On the other hand, segments that are most likely to “deliver a lemon” include anesthesia cabinets, radiation therapy, MR (1.5T), automated medication dispensing units and smart pumps.