Doctors and patients on the Sunshine Coast will soon have access to a brand new tool to help speed up diagnoses and care with a system called Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) announced the Ministry of Health Services approved funds for PACS om July 23.
The $3.2-million system will allow images like X-rays, ultra sounds and CT scans as well as medical reports to be digitized and shared with health professionals along a secure network within VCH jurisdiction.The process will eliminate traditional film from diagnostic imaging.
Gavin Wilson, regional director, public affairs for VCH said having PACS will mean patients will benefit by having doctors, radiologists and specialists able to access the images without the trouble of using mail or delivery.
"Physicians can share these images with colleagues. If they wanted another opinion about something they've seen in a diagnostic image, they can share it with a physician at Vancouver General Hospital for example," he said. "It's just head and shoulders above the old technology."
Mary Ackenhusen, chief operating officer for the Coastal Health service delivery, said PACS will not only enhance consultation between health professionals but will also allow for better diagnoses.
"PACS allows radiologists to review examinations dynamically rather than statically, meaning they can rotate, zoom in or out, and even align several images easily with a minimum of manipulation. These are all things that are difficult to do with static film images," she said in a news release.
VCH Public affairs officer Trudi Beutel said PACS is currently being used most hospitals in VCH's jurisdiction and the authority is working on getting it set up in each VCH hospital.
Wilson could not say when exactly the system would be installed at St. Mary's Hospital, but he did say it would be before the end of the fiscal year in March 2010.
