This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Caradigm, a joint venture formed 10 months ago by GE Healthcare and Microsoft, has laid off approximately 70 percent of its Utah workforce.
The layoff, which took place on Wednesday at the company's office in Murray, affected between 40 and 50 employees.
Caradigm spokeswoman Peggy Fisher acknowledged the layoff took place but said the exact number of employees wasn't available. She said the Murray office was not the only company location to see a reduction in force. Based in Bellevue, Wash., the joint venture also has offices in Boston and Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Fisher said the layoff was necessary in Utah due to the "changing nature" of Caradigm's involvement with Intermountain Healthcare.
In early 2009, General Electric announced a $3 billion investment in new medical technology that involved a partnership between GE Healthcare and Utah's Intermountain Healthcare to create a top-line electronic medical-record system. The Web-based record system was designed to help doctors and nurses avoid medical errors and waste, while also creating an online record for patients.
GE Healthcare's involvement in that effort became part of the Caradigm joint venture in June 2012, under a four-year contract that ended in January. Some of the programs are now in use, said Daron Cowley, a spokesman for Intermountain.
Fisher said that a "small engineering team" will continue to operate in the Salt Lake area, as well as a customer-support center.