HERE & NOW

7 Benefits of the Enterprise Imaging Platform

Healthcare systems the world over are under pressure to perform, especially during COVID constraints. Shedding light on how access to digitally stored, centralised records can make the difference between life or death and optimised operational efficiency, Gerrit Henning, CEO of Health Systems Technologies, shared and expanded insights expressed by Dr Anjum Ahmed, Chief Medical Officer, AGFA HealthCare, who explored the key reasons why it is becoming increasingly necessary for enterprise imaging platforms

An Enterprise Imaging Platform simplifies the access of a single comprehensive patient imaging record, empowers doctors and hospital management to make informed decisions through consolidation of multiple service lines within and outside the enterprise.

1. Patient-centred view across the enterprise

With the patient now taking centre stage, progression to a multi-disciplinary approach as well as the increased use of telehealth and telemedicine, a solution like Agfa HealthCare’s Enterprise Imaging Platform is the ideal way to provide a universal view of a patient’s multi-specialty imaging timeline and journey. With Agfa’s XERO Exchange Technology, multiple facilities are able to be connected at once, which enables sharing and access of patient data from a central database. This technology enables connected facilities to diagnose patients quicker and, in some cases, it reduces the number of scans a patient needs thus lowering the amount of radiation they receive, and potentially, the number of patient hospital visits.

2. Secure, multi-specialty, real- time communication and collaboration

Agfa HealthCare Enterprise Imaging for Radiology enables collaboration, chat and share tools straight from a desktop computer, keeping practitioners connected with colleagues and peers. Live screen sharing allows multiple colleagues to see images and annotations in real time. Dual author reporting workflows also enhance the teaching workflows with resident and attending doctor workflows and a feedback loop.

3. Faster, secure reporting: remote, at home or on-premises

To deal with the COVID outbreak, the continuity of the radiology reporting activities is crucial. Clinicians and radiologists have the innate ability and can, with Enterprise Imaging Platform or XERO Universal Viewer, report/view studies via their secure VPN connection from remote venues.

4. Rules-based workflow, triage and task optimisation

Enterprise Imaging for Radiology’s native rules-based workflow engine helps to organise tasks and define priorities within sub-specialties, by modality and across shared institutions. The workflow engine is “native” in Enterprise Imaging, requiring no external orchestrator or application. Workflow engines are highly customisable, which helps optimise tasks and makes workflows more robust.

5. Augmented intelligence: using data to better measure, predict and take action

Optimising radiology capacity in times of a pandemic is key. Catching first signs early on, can help stop the spread, which can be achieved (and have been proven), by using text search on radiology reports for terms such as ‘pneumonia’, ‘pneumonitis’, etc, allowing practitioners to retrospectively track the start of the outbreak. The rules-based workflow engine then enables workflow optimisation and automation by analysing standards-based meta-data generated by regulatory cleared AI algorithms.

6. Simplified, cost effective image data management

The single, converged infrastructure means fewer databases, operating systems, maintenance contracts and systems to interface, with lower system administration costs. This also results in a reduced total cost of ownership, whilst maximising IT resources. Simplified image data management through one streamlined administrative system also enhances privacy and security features and provides for continuous monitoring as well as being easily upgraded. Further added benefits also include a reduction in environmental impact as cooling and heating consumption utilised by individual systems.

7. Scalability – being cloud based allows for practice growth

Being cloud-based, the Enterprise Imaging platform is easily scalable across service lines and capable of handling large volumes, also at a fraction of the cost of legacy based systems.