Agfa HealthCare RIS/PACS solution provides business continuity and disaster recovery for infectious disease center in Rome, Italy

- Key Italian center of excellence chose Agfa HealthCare for redundancy and high availability. - Agreement includes maintenance contract. - Robustness and security of solutions convinced radiologists and technologists.

Agfa HealthCare announces that it is implementing a high redundancy, high availability Elefante radiology information system (RIS)* and IMPAX picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases (Istituto Nazionale per le Malattie Infettive Lazzaro Spallanzani – I.R.C.C.S.) in Rome, Italy. The agreement, which also includes a maintenance contract, was signed in August 2014, and implementation is on-going.

Responding to evolving community healthcare demands
The 250-bed, state-of-the-art Lazzaro Spallanzani institute in Rome started out in 1939 as a center for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Over time, its role has evolved and expanded to deal with the prevailing health concerns of each era. For example, it has progressively taken on polio, cholera, hepatitis B, AIDS/HIV, and has become one of two Italian centers of excellence for the most recent Ebola crisis.

The institute also acts as coordinator of European research programs on post-exposure prophylaxis, on diagnosing unusual microorganisms and on the management of isolation facilities, as well as taking part in numerous European Community projects and research activities.

Reliable and secure radiology workflow
In this demanding environment, the availability and reliability of systems and tools is critical. Based on this need, the institute decided to implement the Agfa HealthCare Elefante RIS and IMPAX PACS solution for data management and reporting, to support the complete medical imaging workflow in its radiology and diagnostic imaging unit. Elefante has been specially designed for the Italian market and fully integrates with IMPAX. The contract includes a two-year maintenance and service contract.

“In our proposal, we could offer not only a robust and secure solution portfolio, but also a service agreement providing total redundancy of both hardware and software, giving the institute the high availability they need,” explains Salvatore Selvaggio, Country Manager, Agfa HealthCare Italy. “We are very proud that such a well-known and high quality center of excellence has chosen Agfa HealthCare as its new provider for RIS and PACS.”

“Our doctors and other healthcare workers face a very demanding healthcare environment, and they have to be confident that the radiology and diagnostic imaging workflow will not be interrupted. The business continuity and disaster recovery, combined with the high quality solutions convinced us to switch from our existing supplier to Agfa HealthCare,” explains Ing. Paolo D’Aprile of the Lazzaro Spallanzani institute.

* Not available in the US and Canada