Ireland's Leading Private Hospital Chooses RIS, PACS, and DR Technology for Optimizing Radiology Workflow

After a lengthy evaluation process, Ireland's largest private hospital has signed a multiyear contract with a U.S. information technology (IT) company for the provision of a comprehensive digital radiography (DR) system. Installation will commence mid-2010 and proceed in phases with completion scheduled for the end of 2010.

The Mater Private Hospital (Dublin, Ireland) is Ireland's leading private hospital and the radiology department offers a range of modalities including X-ray, digital mammography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, nuclear medicine, fluoroscopy and vascular imaging, undertaking approximately 70,000 studies annually.

For digital capture, the contract includes the installation of the innovative Carestream Health (Rochester, NY, USA) DRX retrofit system that allows healthcare providers to convert conventional X-ray rooms to DR and achieve valuable gains in workflow. A Directview Elite CR system with Mammography Feature will also enable mammography exams to be performed using the same platform as general radiography and long length imaging, with the result of improved workflow and productivity.

The new imaging equipment will integrate with the latest version of the Carestream RIS and PACS (radiology information system and picture archiving and communication system) that allows healthcare providers to collaborate seamlessly across multiple sites, platforms, and clinical specialties, with just one desktop optimizing productivity for the entire radiology workflow. A storage area network and virtualized server environment will host and provide storage for all the Mater Private Hospital's IT applications, including the new Carestream RIS and PACS, and during the length of the contract Carestream Health will also provide full service support.

"The reason we chose Carestream Health was that the integration, usability, advanced 3D [three-dimensional] and image-processing facilities, especially for PET/CT, will support our wide range of disciplines,” said Paddy Gilligan, principal physicist at the Mater Private Hospital. "The RIS was very intuitive and matched our workflows and overall the product best suited the detailed requirements laid out in our Request for Procurement. In addition, we visited Tullamore and Forth Valley hospitals where clinicians showed a high level of satisfaction with Carestream Health solutions. The DRX and CR will allow us to convert our general X-ray room and breast specimen radiography with maximum efficiency from a single product portfolio.”

"The Mater Private Hospital was highly rigorous in their evaluation of Carestream Health's digital medical solutions portfolio, leaving no stone unturned to meet their overall objectives,” added Charlie McCaffrey, managing director, Carestream Health U.K. and Ireland. "We are delighted to have been awarded the contract, which sees the first installation in Ireland of both the latest Carestream RIS and PACS platform, and the new DRX retrofit system.”

Related Links:
Carestream Health
Mater Private Hospital