Agfa HealthCare implements first Chinese version of IMPAX RIS system in No. 1 Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang, China

Mortsel, Belgium, August 9, 2006, Agfa HealthCare today announces that it has established its first Chinese version of Agfa’s Radiology Information System (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS), IMPAX, in the No. 1 Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang.

The No. 1 Hospital of China Medical University is a 1,300 bed hospital with more than 70 years’ history that provides care for 3,500-4,000 outpatients per day. It is one of the earliest hospitals using a Hospital Information System (HIS) in China. In the early 90’s it installed a HIS and it set up a Laboratory Information System (LIS) in 2001. The Radiology Department of the hospital has 16 digital imaging modalities and provides more than 700 imaging diagnoses per day, producing 40 GB of image data on a daily basis.

At the site, Agfa HealthCare has installed its IMPAX 5.2 solution in the Chinese language and the Chinese version of its RIS solution, managing the whole department workflow, including patient administration, image management, reporting and report distribution. It concerns in total 75 RIS/PACS workstations that are currently used by 110 radiologists. At the clinical department Agfa has also installed an IMPAX Web 1000™ client. As stated by the largest news agency in China, XinHua News Agency, it is a milestone that “Agfa HealthCare has, for the design of this system, adapted the Chinese hospital radiology management workflow and combined it with international workflow specifications.”

Early 2005, Agfa HealthCare established its own R&D center for healthcare IT in Shanghai. This development group among others adapts the existing software to align it to the local workflow. The No. 1 Hospital of China Medical University has chosen to work with Agfa because it has globally proved successful PACS/RIS implementations and offers localized solutions that optimize the radiology workflow in Chinese hospitals. “Every country has different healthcare systems. Agfa’s solution really matches the local requirements and improves the efficiency of hospitals” says Prof. Xu Ke, the CEO of the No. 1 Hospital of China Medical University.

Agfa HealthCare and the hospital have also agreed to jointly establish a long term co-operation model which implies that the site in Shenyang will act as PACS/RIS system application training center in China. At the official opening ceremony on July 28, attended by hospitals officials and national and provincial governmental leaders, Dr. Gao Yanjie from the Hospital Information Management Office of the Chinese Ministry of Health said that “this training base will nationwide play a crucial role to share the knowledge of medical IT technologies and to provide high-level training in system implementation and applications.” Herman Raats, Agfa HealthCare Cluster Manager ASPAC North, stated: “We are very proud that the No. 1 CMUH has chosen Agfa for this pioneer project. The long standing relationship between Agfa and the China Medical University, and the pioneering tradition in IT of the No. 1 CMUH will be a very good match.”

Contact Information

Werner Vandevelde

Global MarCom Leader IT solutions HealthCare

Agfa-Gevaert Group

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