MDIS veteran Goeringer joins Philips

Philips Medical Systems North America has landed a heavy hitterto lead long-range planning in its PACS business unit. The Shelton,CT, vendor announced this month that it has hired Col. Fred Goeringer(ret.), who headed the U.S. military's medical diagnostic imagingsupport (MDIS) project until he retired from the Army earlierthis year.

Goeringer has been named director of healthcare connectivitysolutions and will oversee Philips' strategic planning effortin PACS and connectivity, according to the company. At last year'sRadiological Society of North America meeting, Philips debutedthe final building blocks in its Inturis for Radiology connectivityprogram, which uses DICOM-compatible modality-cluster workstationsthat can be linked to an image management network.

Goeringer's appointment is part of a retooling of the PhilipsPACS program into two parallel segments, one concentrating onshort-term implementation of immediate customer needs, and theother focusing on strategic planning and long-term development,including the expansion of Inturis to cover an entire hospitalenterprise, rather than just a radiology department.

Goeringer will head the strategic planning for the group, whilePhilips veteran Thomas Giordano, director of integrated clinicalsolutions, will lead the group's short-term activity, such asdeveloping off-the-shelf PACS solutions and managing the developmentof customized projects, according to Philips.