Health and Community Services Minister Ottenheimer on Tuesdayannounced that a contribution of $10.5 million by Canada HealthInfoway, combined with government's investment of $4 million inBudget 2005, would support the development of a province-widePicture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) by 2007.
It will make Newfoundland and Labrador the first province inCanada to have such a system. Mike Sheridan, COO of Infoway,confirmed the Infoway funding at a news conference in CornerBrook.
PACS is a computer system that allows diagnostic images -including x-rays, MRI, ultrasounds and CT scans to be digitallycaptured, viewed, stored and transmitted electronically from onesite to another. It replaces conventional x-ray film and greatlyimproves access to patient information by enabling referringclinicians to review patient images on computers anywhere in theprovince.
"Government is committed to investing in electronic informationsystems for storing and managing patient records, which will resultin a seamless flow of patient care information across deliverysystems," said Minister Ottenheimer. "PACS will benefit patients,health care providers and managers through improved access todiagnostic imaging services in rural areas, reduced wait times, andimprove access to specialist consultations."
Prevention of some patient transfers by being able to take andread images in one location and have them reviewed by a physicianin another, and increased test-to-results time are also benefits,he said.
A combined investment of $14.5 million by government and Infowaywill result in the implementation of the PACS project in thewestern and Labrador-Grenfell regions, allowing these regions tolink into existing sites in central and eastern regions.
Once completed, the integrated PACS will provide consistent andvirtually seamless, province-wide access to a patient's completediagnostic record by their health care provider.
By 2007 there will be 27 PACS sites in the province.
"Newfoundland and Labrador has already made significant progressin the area of electronic health records (EHR) and today's$10.5-million investment by Infoway will make this province one ofthe first completely filmless provinces when it comes to diagnosticimaging," said Richard Alvarez, president and CEO of Infoway. "Thisproject will be an example to other provinces and is the first steptoward our goal of making diagnostic images available for 50 percent of all Canadians by 2009."
The PACS project, an initiative of the Department of Health andCommunity Services, in collaboration with Infoway and managed bythe Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, willallow for primary reporting, on-call coverage, and immediate remoteconsultation allowing both the clinician and the referringradiologist to review the same images at the same time. It alsomeans fewer exams are repeated when patients are sent to secondaryand/or tertiary sites for consultation.
All diagnostic images will be stored in a central repositorymanaged by Eastern Health.
All necessary provincial privacy and security requirements will beadhered to in the management and use of personal information as itpertains to this central repository.
While acknowledging the importance of both the province'scontribution and Infoway's investment, Centre for HealthInformation CEO, Steve O'Reilly, emphasized that "the greatestinvestment in this project has been made by dedicated healthprofessionals who have readily come together, collaborating withone another to build a single shared provincial PACS network."