With the advent of newer technologies and focus on reducing preventable medical errors, training healthcare professionals is of utmost importance to ensure patient safety. As a recognized global training provider in healthcare that offers solutions in simulation integrated learning to enable better outcomes for patients, CAE Healthcare is partnering with a growing number of hospitals and healthcare providers. CAE is a pioneer in using latest technologies in AR/VR and data analytics to support real-time adaptive learning in healthcare based on company’s long history and unique technology in aviation. The company offers training across the career continuum for nurses, physicians, interventionalists, surgeons and all healthcare professionals to make healthcare safer.
CAE Healthcare is a part of CAE, the global leader in training for civil aviation, defense & security and healthcare. CAE has been setting the standard in training for more than 70 years. The company has the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, CAE trains more than 220,000 crew members, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide.
Offering Most Extensive Portfolio
CAE Healthcare offers the most extensive portfolio of simulation training products and services for all the healthcare disciplines, with patient, ultrasound and surgical simulators as well as training center management and faculty-developed curriculum. Currently the company has approximately 14,000 simulators and advanced audiovisual solutions (CAE LearningSpace) in use in over 80 countries worldwide by hospitals, medical schools, nursing schools, medical device industry partners and allied health professionals.
One of its newest developments is augmented reality training for placement of specific cardiac devices, which allows physicians to view 3D anatomy as they master new procedures quickly and safely. The company is also integrating its CAE LearningSpace center management software with more devices, curriculum and assessment features to create a seamless training environment for universities and hospitals with full data and audiovisual capture. CAE Healthcare also offers peer-topeer training of faculty who are learning to teach with simulation. The CAE Healthcare Academy has developed more than 500 simulation scenarios and training courses for educators.
The Trailblazer
With a background in engineering, marketing and more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Rekha Ranganathan is the President of CAE Healthcare. Ms. Ranganathan has a proven track record of driving profitable growth in the healthcare industry, including several leadership positions at Philips Healthtech, a foremost health technology company. Her latest position was Vice President and Global General Manager for Computed Tomography and Advanced Molecular Imaging within the Diagnostic imaging group, where she led all functions. Her international background includes the leadership of the Philips Oncology division based in India as well as the management of commercial and marketing strategy for Boston Scientific USA’s Indian and Chinese markets.
Ms. Ranganathan holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgy & Material Science from the Indian Institute of Technology. Her depth and breadth of experience in the industry has enabled her to gain much-needed understanding of how physicians and nurses interact with these technologies, and she has also seen the challenges they face in hospitals and healthcare in general.
In order for new developments and technologies to be effective, Ranganathan believes they need to be integrated with training so that providers have better preparation and patients remain safer. She recognizes CAE Healthcare’s strong entrepreneurial spirit for innovation that can be rapidly accomplished and delivered to providers and educators.
The Invisible Hand
CAE Healthcare’s role in the healthcare continuum is to ensure that healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, EMS responders) have the greatest level of expertise in delivering the best care for the patient. The company aims to improve patient outcomes through reduction of procedural errors and human errors by ensuring training is provided at the highest standards.
According to Ranganathan, CAE Healthcare can be the “invisible hand” behind every doctor and practitioner by partnering with hospitals, nursing schools, industry to develop training platforms along with the curriculum, tools and analytics to assess and improve performance. We work with hospitals to ensure that we are gathering data to show the learning improvement, enabling adaptive learning while leveraging the technology backend and integrating it into the simulation and clinical environment.
Tackling Challenges and Planning for Better Future
For CAE Healthcare and the industry, one of the challenges is measuring the correlation between training and patient outcomes. CAE Healthcare is working with hospitals to gather performance improvement data. The organization plans to launch more technology platforms soon to make real-time data gathering more automated.
According to CAE Healthcare, simulation will become a central element in training and more present in a growing movement towards competency, certification and masterybased assessment for all disciplines in healthcare. In an effort to shift to value-based care, hospitals are increasingly given incentives to become safer and more efficient, which will drive higher demand for more effective training.
Today’s generation of healthcare learners expect an engaging, interactive environment: CAE Healthcare will continue to lead with innovations and advanced solutions for the education and training of students and professionals in all the healthcare disciplines.
Rekha Ranganathan | President | CAE Healthcare
