Agfa HealthCare’s strong reputation in hospital IT confirmed by additional ORBIS contract in year of launch in Belgium

* Comprehensive IT solution will integrate hospital systems and enhance information flows at AZ Monica hospital in Antwerp
* Follows the signing in August of two pilot site contracts

Mortsel - Belgium - September 19, 2006, Agfa HealthCare announces today that the AZ Monica acute care hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, has contracted Agfa HealthCare to install ORBIS™, Agfa HealthCare’s comprehensive hospital and clinical IT system. The ORBIS solution will manage the entire patient flow through all departments at AZ Monica’s two hospital sites in Antwerp. The contract marks the first commercial implementation of ORBIS in Belgium, following the launch in the Belgian market in March of this year, and illustrates Agfa HealthCare’s commitment to the achievement of Electronic Patient Records (EPR).

The AZ Monica hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, counts 477 beds distributed over two locations in the city and provides a comprehensive range of health services. Its 786 employees and 175 doctors treat approximately 18,000 inpatients and 40,000 outpatients each year.

For the AZ Monica hospital, the key reason to choose Agfa HealthCare as a strategic in hospital IT partner is the cross-departmental and process-based approach of ORBIS. Dirk Van de Vyver, the hospital’s IT Manager, said: “As a single solution, ORBIS allows for enhancing the quality of patient care and provides fast and complete availability of patients’ histories, including all images and data. Accurate patient medical records will be available to authorized nursing, technical and medical staff, allowing for quicker and better diagnoses and treatments.”

ORBIS’s installed base, with 400,000 daily users in 750 hospital sites throughout Europe, also contributed to AZ Monica’s preference for Agfa HealthCare. “When we were looking for a hospital information system, Agfa HealthCare was able to show us a convincing ORBIS demo, presented by a doctor who used the solution on a daily basis in his German workplace. Conversely, Agfa HealthCare’s competitors’ demo sessions tended to include functionalities labeled ’maybe in the future’ or ’we’re investigating the possibility’. After several successful and highly convincing demo sessions, both our IT team and the medical staff are confident ORBIS will be a future-proof, and full-grown hospital IT solution,” Dirk Van de Vyver continued. The contract includes installation and maintenance. Starting in December 2007, AZ Monica’s existing hospital information system will gradually be replaced by ORBIS over two to three years.

“At AZ Monica hospital, we are experienced and highly satisfied users of Agfa HealthCare’s RIS/PACS (Radiology Information System/Picture Archiving and Communication System) solutions, which we’ve had since I became head of the Radiology Service,” explained Medical Director Dr. Frans Van Camp. “We have seen the evolution from film to digital, and we feel Agfa has taken the worldwide lead in the search for better solutions. At the last RSNA congresses in Chicago, Agfa HealthCare presented highly innovative digital imaging solutions. We are happy to extend our excellent relationship with them.”

“PACS is a vital component of the Radiology Service, which helps doctors to improve their diagnoses with better images, at a faster pace. Starting in October 2006, new PACS hardware will be installed at the Radiology department, with future expansion to both of AZ Monica’s hospital sites and our regional hospital network of general practitioners,” Dr. Frans Van Camp concluded.

Contact Information

René Stenvert

Marketing Manager Agfa HealthCare Benelux

Agfa-Gevaert Group

Contact via E-mail