Integrated IMPAX Agility Solution Brings Radiologists Closer to Therapeutic Decision-making

Challenge: Increasing Pressure on the PACS Infrastructure for Performance and Ergonomics

AZ Sint-Rembert’s team of three radiologists, under Geert Biebau, M.D., head of radiology and medical director of the hospital, performs a broad series of examinations, both at the hospital site and using facilities at larger regional hospitals. Modalities such as MRI, cardio-CT and mammography are stretching the performance and ergonomic demands of the PACS infrastructure, pushing the boundaries of processing speed, user-friendliness and flexibility. So when Agfa HealthCare proposed the hospital to test the new integrated IMPAX Agility solution, they didn’t hesitate.

Solution: An Intuitive Image Management Solution That Helps Improve the Delivery of Care While Reducing Costs

IMPAX Agility is a completely unified imaging management platform designed to achieve clinical productivity and optimize total cost of ownership. It unifies RIS, PACS, reporting, 3-D, connectivity and clinical applications, using a single data model to provide a seamless system that offers relevant and varied clinical data in one platform.

Radiologist Frederique Van Robaeys, M.D., explained the intuitive interface and the power of IMPAX Agility’s integration with other relevant patient information, retrieved from the RIS, HIS, medical patient record, nomenclature and lab result server, as well as the IMPAX archive. “I get all this information from IMPAX Agility’s interface, which means I no longer need to login anywhere else or wait for other applications to open.

“I can see the scanned original examination request form and use report macros that adapt as I complete the diagnosis, considerably speeding up reporting and helping to avoid omissions," he continued. "I can tag key images that will form the basis of the image set for the referring doctor or clinician. To add supportive viewpoints from external sources, the integrated internet browser takes me to any source I want, and I can then simply add files or links to my report. This is my office and I can easily take it anywhere to continue working with Sint-Rembert’s server over a VPN connection.”

Benefits: More Active Role for Radiologists in Therapeutic Decision-making Plus Greater Productivity

The faster reporting speed and image support provided to clinicians have changed their working relationship with radiologists, underscored Biebau. With all images at hand, as well as those coming from the clinician’s modality, the radiologist is able to interpret images from a more holistic clinical perspective. As a result, he is more routinely asked to explain his view on certain studies with his knowledge of images from other modalities. “With IMPAX Agility at hand, we are more often considered a sounding board in support of the clinician’s therapeutic decision-making,” he said.

Biebau concluded, “It has enabled us to improve our service and increase productivity. With IMPAX Agility we can cope with the challenge of increasingly complex imaging and software developments, such as cardio- or angio-CT, which can be easily integrated. We are convinced Agfa HealthCare will be our partner on our path to the future of medical imaging.”