Software Provides Registry of Medical Reports and Images

Digital imaging software has been developed that allows hospitals and patients to share medical data and improve diagnosis.

The Institut Català de la Salut (ICS; Barcelona, Spain) has introduced novel medical imaging software developed by the company Bahía Software (A Coruna, Spain). Five hospitals and 21 primary care health centers already have the Bay DICOM [Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine] Media system, a unique imaging software that makes it possible to import and export medical cases, share results between different departments, hospitals, and patients as well as to keep a full traceability registry of medical reports to ensure absolute confidentiality.

This product complements the digitalization plan for the radiology departments of the ICS that are part of the Argos Assistencial project and allows the progressive phasing out of radiographic film printing.

Bahía Software, in collaboration with the ICS, has made 26 installations of Bay DICOM Media using the Ethernet version of Epson disc producer CD/DVD Epson PP-100 in five hospitals. The deployment phase has been completed, which was conducted at the centers own servers in December 2010 and January 2011, and is now in the first initial months of use in a real environment.

The Bay DICOM Media software implements the exportation of studies, making it easier for users to store selected digital imaging on CD/DVD/USB (universal serial bus) or SD (secure digital) cards. Similarly, it allows importing out-of-the-organization studies and identifies them correctly within corporation information systems. It also includes a standard interface to execute storing orders sent by the hospital systems as well as for confirming them to the requesting system.

In the future, it will be able to implement gateway functionalities for the integration of personal health record (PHR) systems as well as the on-line integration between public and private health systems. The Bay DICOM Media system makes it possible to retrieve patient's images from the image server, save them in a conventional information storage system (CD, DVD, USB, or SD) to be read by any software compatible with the medical imaging standard (DICOM).

This system includes a digital imaging, as well as medical reports and patient data. This contributes to integrating medical imaging and histories between public systems and the care provided by private hospitals (whether they are under a collaboration agreement with public health authorities or not). Furthermore, and due to a small software program it includes, members of the public may access this system from a home computer to read their own medical history, without requiring any special software.

However, medical imaging is not confined to radiographic imaging. For instance, it is not uncommon for other clinical departments such as dermatology to take pictures of skin lesions. Bahía software makes it possible to add video or photograph images, store them at the hospital's server, and attach them to the patient's medical history.

Ultimately, this is a solution that allows the sharing of diagnostic tests so that consultants at their offices may analyze, print or store them in an external storage system to share them with other centers or with the patient and attach any type of image, video, electrocardiogram, or text while ensuring traceability in the handling of information thus ensuring patient's confidentiality.

Bahía Software is a company specialized in information technology (IT) services and integration of technological solutions. The company's objective is to provide innovative solutions based on quality and technological evolution in project development. Since 2005, Bahía Software has comprehensively tackled the digitalization of medical tests in the hospitals of Galicia and Cantabria from the initial consulting stage and the defining of research needs to project implementation.

The Institut Català de la Salut, a public sector corporation run under the authority of the Health Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomous Government of Catalonia), is the greatest public sector healthcare provider in Catalonia. With over 41,000 staff, the Institut Català de la Salut ICS provide healthcare assistance to almost six million users, which amounts to 76% of insured population.

Epson Ibérica, SAU (Barcelona, Spain) is a market leader in Spain in printers of a variety of technologies and projectors.

Related Links:
Institut Català de la Salut
Bahía Software
Epson Ibérica