PACS/RIS Software Focuses on Usability, Productivity, Workflow, and Business Intelligence

New software provides enhanced workflows for image management and reporting. The software is a fully integrated picture archiving and communication system/radiology information system (RIS/PACS) workflow solution for data management and reporting, offering improved productivity through the complete imaging process, from order management to results distribution.

The system utilizes automated task management with an efficient presentation of relevant clinical information synchronized to the study to support informed healthcare delivery. Agfa HealthCare (Mortsel, Belgium) announced that Palmetto Health of South Carolina (Columbia, SC, USA) has installed Impax 6.5, the latest software version, which is based on customer feedback and engineered to streamline workflow and provide enhanced image processing capabilities for busy radiology departments.
Palmetto Health requires a PACS that provides quick access to the retrieval of images, enables communication between different departments and referring physicians, and provides efficient workflow to increase productivity. “Upgrading our existing solution with the newest release of Impax is allowing us to better manage our case load, immediately identify critical tasks to be completed, and ultimately provide a higher quality of care for our patients,” said Dr. Douglas Bull, radiologist for Pitts Radiology, an imaging services provider for Palmetto Health.

The software also introduces several new workflows to facilitate communications between healthcare providers including an image enabled chat, permitting clinicians to dialogue about images in context with the Impax display. Assigned tasks, voice clip, enhanced comments, and IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) key image note support complete the new communication tools in Impax 6.5.

“Our customers were engaged in the development of Impax 6.5, and we’re seeing the results in the satisfaction of those facilities that have implemented Impax 6.5,” said Bob Craske, senior marketing manager, Agfa HealthCare US. “From the PACS administrators and IT [information technology] staff who are responsible for supporting the system to the radiologists and referring physicians who are reading complex cases each day, Impax 6.5 is getting high praise from all for its new workflows for managing large volume studies, advanced image processing and improved communications and its overall efficiency and reliability.”

One of the key focuses for workflow efficiency in the software is in the area of women’s care. Impax 6.5 builds on the inherent benefits of a vendor neutral, multimodality review station for breast imaging and takes the workflow efficiency to a whole new level. Many of these efficiencies come as a result of compliance with the IHE mammography image profile. Features such as “same size display” allow the radiologist to view all images at the same size regardless of vendor or paddle size for improved efficiency and accuracy when looking for changes from year to year. Other features such as 1:1 Smart Navigator, dual workflows, image scale to fit, and enhanced computer-aided detection (CAD) integrations make this solution the choice for demanding radiologists.

Imapx 6.5 also delivers one of the most extended desktops in the industry, offering advanced image processing in a multimodality environment for consistent and productive reporting workflows. Agfa HealthCare has teamed with third-party market leaders to provide market advanced solutions for peer review, teaching file management, orthopedic templating, and sophisticated image processing, and new in 2011, a fully integrated nuclear medicine processing platform.

Related Links:
Agfa HealthCare
Palmetto Health of South Carolina