Government Invests in Information Technology to Improve Patient Care
The completion of a new digital diagnostic system at hospitals across Nova Scotia will allow physicians and their patients to make faster and better treatment decisions.
"Our plan is to introduce new information technology across the province that will improve the quality of care and access to tests and treatment," Premier Rodney MacDonald said today, April 18. "The PACS system, which is part of this plan, will mean quicker treatment decisions and the reduction of unnecessary travel for many patients."
The provincial government is investing more than $10 million in new equipment as part of the Picture Archive and Communications System (PACS) expansion project. The project, which has already been implemented in every district health authority, will replace film-based imaging in the province with faster, safer and more streamlined processes.
"This technology helps reduce the time a patient has to wait," said Health Minister Chris d'Entremont. "We are allowing doctors to spend more time with their patients and are providing Nova Scotians with health-care services as close to home as possible."
Many hospitals are already using digital technology to capture, store and transmit digital images including X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds and MRIs. The system makes medical images available instantly to health-care providers across the province.
"The power of digital image has transformed the way health care is delivered," said Dr. Charles Lo, clinical chief, diagnostic imaging at Capital Health. "Radiologists and emergency room physicians can access patient images from any hospital in the province, meaning faster treatment and less duplication."
The PACS expansion project is a partnership between the Health districts in Nova Scotia, the Department of Health and Canada Health Infoway, an independent not-for-profit organization that supports electronic health record initiatives across Canada.
"Nova Scotia is providing health-care professionals with faster access to better information by using diagnostic imaging, a key component of the electronic health record," said Richard Alvarez Infoway's president and CEO. "This will go a long way towards improving the efficiency, accessibility and quality of patient care in Canada's health-care system."
The project began in 2004 at a total cost of $25 million. Canada Health Infoway is contributing $12 million with the remaining $3 million to come from the federal medical equipment fund.
The project is being implemented in hospitals across the province by teams from district health authorities with support from Sierra Systems, which provided project management; Agfa Inc., the vendor of the PACs equipment; and EMC Corp., the centralized information management and storage provider.