• Press release
  • Mortsel, Belgium
  • March 17, 2016 2:00 PM CET

- Enterprise Imaging for Radiology is a single, completely unified imaging platform providing imaging management, reporting, advanced image processing and integration of clinical information. - Hanging protocols and sectional reporting enhance radiology workflow and reporting, while a single point of entry simplifies system administration. - Careful and comprehensive planning, as well as close collaboration between the hospital and Agfa HealthCare, resulted in a smooth, successful transition.

Agfa HealthCare announces today that the Admiraal De Ruyter Ziekenhuis (ADRZ) in Goes has become the first hospital in the Netherlands to install its Enterprise Imaging for Radiology solution. ADRZ is a general care hospital with four sites, 170 medical specialists and 2300 employees providing healthcare services in the Zeeland region of the Netherlands. The hospital's transition went very smoothly, and the new solution is now up and running.

A single, sophisticated platform
 As existing customer of Agfa HealthCare, ADRZ decided to transition its existing picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to the Enterprise Imaging for Radiology platform. Agfa HealthCare's Enterprise Imaging for Radiology includes imaging management, reporting, advanced image processing and integration of clinical information, all in one sophisticated platform. This completely unified imaging solution offers a care-centric workflow that is standards-based, improves interoperability and enables a comprehensive patient health record across departments within a single facility or between multiple facilities. It offers clinicians a single point of access to patient information from different sources, allowing radiologists to quickly access a patient's complete file, generate a report and distribute it, all during one session, even from a remote location.
The platform also includes the XERO Viewer, which is seamlessly integrated into the hospital's third-party electronic patient record (EPR). The Viewer provides cross-specialty image 'anywhere, anytime' access to images from any source, from within a single web viewer, so that caregivers can see the patient's entire imaging story.

Careful preparation leads to 1-day switch-over
 A team of some 20 people from the hospital's radiology and ICT departments and from Agfa HealthCare collaborated closely to achieve the transition to Enterprise Imaging for Radiology. The extensive preparations included migrating around 1.8 million studies, building a complete infrastructure, training users, performing test runs, and more.

This careful work led up to November 28, when the existing system was switched off and Enterprise Imaging for Radiology switched on. The approximately 60 modalities and workstations were connected to the Enterprise Imaging for Radiology and tested. The hospital next began using the Enterprise Imaging for Radiology solution intensively, with everything moving smoothly.

Enhanced productivity and communication
 The benefits are already being felt throughout the hospital: the radiologists appreciate the hanging protocols that enhance their productivity, as well as the sectional reporting that makes creating reports easier and more standardized. The improved workflow helps balance the workload between radiologists, while decreasing waiting time for patients. The system is also simple for end users, with a straightforward interface that requires limited training. Critically, communication with clinicians is improved as well.

Administration of the system is easy: configuration, management and maintenance controls are all available through a single entry point, using a streamlined, uncluttered and intuitive administrator interface.

'Enterprise Imaging is a single, 64-bit platform, which made migration quick: implementation took only one day, supported by thorough advance preparation,' comments Rene Stenvert of Agfa HealthCare. 'It required a lot of team work, but we can already conclude that the implementation of the first Enterprise Imaging for Radiology in the Netherlands was a huge success.'

'The switch-over went very well, and almost all of the issues that occurred were solved the same day,' says Brian Willems, project manager and key user of the solution at ADRZ. 'By carefully following the elaborate plan, the total downtime was only about 45 minutes. The collaboration with Agfa HealthCare, during the preparations and the switch-over, was excellent.'


Agfa Gevaert NV issued this content on 17 March 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 17 March 2016 13:03:34 UTC

Original Document: http://www.agfa.com/he/global/en/internet/main/news_events/news/archive/he20160317_ADRZ.jsp