SIDI shapes its future with Agfa HealthCare’s IMPAX RIS/PACS solution

SIDI, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Digital information management grants fast access to seven sites for leading Brazilian medical image provider

The 2006 implementation of Agfa HealthCare's IMPAX™ RIS/PACS in SIDI's seven sites in the greater Porto Alegre area meant the beginning of the digitalization and automation of its medical imaging processes. The newly-installed imaging and reporting solution grants fast access to patient information and enables SIDI's employees to generate reports quickly, greatly enhancing the workflow and the delivery of patient care.

Established in 1987, SIDI (Serviço de Investigação Diagnostica SA) is the leading provider for
diagnostic images in southern Brazil. It has sixteen sites, situated in the greater Porto Alegre area,
as well as in the cities of Novo Hamburgo, Guaíba, Esteio, São Leopoldo, Viamão, Gravataí and
Caçapava do Sul. SIDI carries out 140,000 exams each year, employs about 200 people (including
36 doctors) and is directed by Drs. Carlos Jader Feldman and Wilson Madeira de Almeida. Its mission is to offer high-quality patient care in the fields of echography, echocardiography, radiology, mammography, densitometry and nuclear medicine.

Fast access to medical images and reports

SIDI was seeking to automate its medical imaging processes and to streamline its patient care.
"We were looking for a reliable solution that would seamlessly connect our remote sites into a coherent network," explains Dr. Madeira de Almeida, Radiologist and Owner of SIDI. In this way, SIDI radiologists and employees would be connected at all sites. He goes on to say: "The new solution had to provide us with fast access to patient information and enable us to quickly generate reports. Originally, we were only interested in PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication
System). But we quickly understood that RIS (Radiology Information System) and PACS actually
complement each other - with RIS being the spirit and PACS the body - so we decided to implement an integrated RIS/PACS solution."

The SIDI's management considered Agfa HealthCare's extensive portfolio alongside those of several other vendors. "The structure of our organization is similar to that of many European
facilities: one big site linked with several small units. Therefore we decided to cooperate with Agfa HealthCare as they have a lot of experience in Europe. Agfa HealthCare really matched our local requirements." In addition, SIDI had a good relationship with Agfa HealthCare's commercial team. Agfa HealthCare also offered the best arguments, technical preparation and commercial packaging for the project. After a thorough investigation, SIDI announced its decision to choose Agfa HealthCare.

The implementation of the project started in 2006. The Agfa HealthCare IMPAX RIS/PACS manages the entire workfl ow, including patient administration, image management, reporting and report distribution. The IMPAX RIS/PACS is supported by a number of other Agfa HealthCare solutions like a CR (Computed Radiography), five Diagnostic Display Stations, an Orthopaedics Workstation and a Clinical Review Workstation. It includes seven servers (one for each site), a CD-burner and a DVD juke-box, and offers extensive integration and communication options. Based on the Health Level Seven (HL7) standards, IMPAX RIS/PACS can exchange messages relating to orders, appointments, results and billing with SIDI's HIS (Hospital Information System).

Agfa HealthCare interconnects SIDI sites up to 40 km apart

Agfa HealthCare's solutions have already been fully implemented in three of SIDI's seven Porto Alegre sites, and there are still four sites to go. "The implementation process has run very smoothly. Our cooperation with Agfa HealthCare is excellent. They have a reliable and skilled local project team that organized extensive training sessions to teach our employees how to work with IMPAX RIS/PACS. All our employees are very enthusiastic and have complete confi dence in theirnew work environment, which offers them many advantages and makes their jobs much easier and more pleasant. They like that they no longer have to deal with fi lm, or go from room to room to look for misplaced film, etc. They prefer working with computers instead and greatly appreciate the fact that they have faster access to patient information," says Dr. Madeira de Almeida.

"IMPAX RIS/PACS is something totally new for us. We used to work with film; digitalization and automation were no issues. Now we have it all," states Dr. Madeira de Almeida. "Thanks to Agfa HealthCare's integrated imaging and reporting solution, our seven Porto Alegre departments will be connected, up to a distance of 40 km. As a result, radiologists can make reports in remote locations, optimizing patient information workfl ows. This is no doubt the greatest benefi t of this project. Our sites are integrated into one system, which facilitates imaging and report creation. All data can be shared and are available with a single mouse-click, which enhances communication, improves our workfl ow and increases productivity," says Dr. Madeira de Almeida.

Benefits to be extended into other sites

Currently, the complete IMPAX RIS/PACS integration is taking center stage and moving full speed ahead. "I expect that the implementation will be fi nished in the fi rst quarter of 2008," says Dr. Madeira de Almeida. There are also plans to further expand IMPAX RIS/PACS to the remaining SIDI departments in Brazil. "Patient care will be outstanding, as it is meant to be, and Agfa HealthCare's RIS/PACS will produce a much brighter future for us," concludes Dr. Madeira de Almeida.

Solution boxes

IMPAX RIS/PACS

  • Streamlined enterprise workflow.
  • Easy and efficient patient registration.
  • Consolidated, centralized management of all patient images and information.
  • Faster access to results and shorter report turnaround times.
  • Automatic billing data transmission.

Agfa HealthCare's contribution

  • Reliable and knowledgeable provider of hospital IT systems.
  • Strong local project team supported by a global knowledge base.
  • Extensive experience in RIS/ PACS technologies.
  • In-depth integration expertise.

Did you know...

  • IMPAX incorporates 15 years of Agfa HealthCare expertise in PACS software development, providing rich tools, full diagnostic viewing capabilities and easy access to information from multiple sources.
  • Agfa HealthCare has the largest IMPAX RIS/PACS connectivity knowledge base in the world.

Quotes

  • "Our cooperation with Agfa HealthCare is excellent. They have a reliable and skilled local project team that organized extensive training sessions to teach our employees how to work with IMPAX RIS/ PACS. All our employees are very enthusiastic and have complete confidence in their new work environment, which offers them many advantages and makes their jobs much easier and more pleasant." Dr. Wilson Madeira de Almeida, Radiologist and Owner of SIDI, Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • "Originally, we were only interested in PACS. But we quickly understood that RIS and PACS actually complement each other - RIS being the spirit and PACS the body - so we decided to implement an integrated RIS/PACS solution." Dr. Wilson Madeira de Almeida, Radiologist and Owner of SIDI, Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • "Radiologists can make reports in remote locations, thus optimizing patient information workflows. This is no doubt the greatest benefit of this project." Dr. Wilson Madeira de Almeida, Radiologist and Owner of SIDI, Porto Alegre, Brazil