Cross-enterprise sharing of images and information that is independent of radiology IT solution (remote installation service (RIS)/picture archiving communication system (PACS)) and enabled by a cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS) framework, has now reached hospitals in Northern Ireland.
This is the first XDS solution to be deployed and now live in the UK. Accordingly, patient-related radiology data will always be available at the point of care, irrespective of patient location, thus further improving quality of care.
In September 2008, one of the largest RIS/PACS projects in the world started up with the signing of a ten-year contract between the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland and Sectra. The project, called the NIPACS Programme, successfully delivered a regional RIS/PACS solution to 27 hospitals.
Thanks to Sectra XDS technology, regional cooperation has now been extended to include the only two hospitals in Northern Ireland not using Sectra PACS.
"Successfully implementing a complex XDS solution such as this demonstrates our broad knowledge of medical imaging IT – an important quality when extended cooperation and communication are required to achieve healthcare efficiency targets," says Torbjörn Kronander, President of Sectra's medical operation.