Agfa HealthCare and Teranet help 33 Ontario hospitals improve collaboration

 

HIMSS (booth #7763) / Orlando, FL (USA) - February 25, 2008 - 13:30 EST

 

Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic imaging solutions, and Teranet, a leading provider of integrated land-based information products, announce today the provision and hosting of a new Diagnostic Imaging data center, and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services for select hospitals across Ontario.  The Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository Services (HDIRS) PACS project (Picture Archiving and Communications System) is a joint initiative of 23 hospital corporations to share diagnostic images and reports across 33 Ontario hospital sites.  The HDIRS project - formerly known as the Toronto East Network (TEN) - is part of the Canadian Health Infoway initiative to accelerate the implementation of reliable and secure health information systems, leading to the eventual goal of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for every Canadian.

Agfa HealthCare will implement the Diagnostic Imaging Data Center to centrally store patient images and reports, all of which will be stored in Teranet's secure data centers.  The 33 participating hospital sites will have secure and real-time access to relevant patient images including ultrasounds and x-rays from different hospital sites - regardless of the original point of care.  In addition, the project will provide disaster recovery, business continuity services and network management to improve hospital services and the delivery of patient care.

"Today's Canadian health system requires a more secure and efficient method to process increasing amounts of medical data.  Teranet's proven capabilities are helping to improve the secure delivery of patient information across the HDIRS network of Ontario hospitals," said Pat Ryan, General Manager, HDIRS.  "We are looking forward to extending this partnership and working to make Canada Health Infoway's national e-health initiative a reality."

Donald Stokes, Healthcare Business Lead at Teranet said: "This innovative project is a clear example of how Teranet's secure electronic services can benefit medical care while increasing efficiencies and reducing costs for health administrators.  We are excited to support Ontario's e-health goals, and to work with Agfa HealthCare to bring those to fruition."

According to Michael Green, Regional Manager IT Business Division, Agfa HealthCare, Canada "the Ontario-based HDIRS project is a vital undertaking as shared electronic patient information is a huge piece of the e-health puzzle.  This project is a huge leap forward toward achieving Canada's EMR goals, and will help healthcare organizations improve the delivery of patient care while improving the security of medical records."

 

 

Teranet Income Fund is an unincorporated, open-ended trust established under the laws of Ontario by way of a declaration of trust.  The Fund was created to indirectly acquire all of the outstanding shares of Teranet Inc.  The units of the Fund trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TF.UN.  Teranet is a leading provider of integrated land-based information products and services.  Teranet operates in Ontario and provides access to the Ontario Electronic Land Registration System (ELRS) through its proprietary application, Teraview(TM) software.  This product enables customers to conduct electronic registrations as well as title and writ searches relating to real property.  Teranet has the exclusive right to access the data in and operate the ELRS and the Writs of Execution database, and create and market value-added products and services in connection with the ELRS and writs until March 31, 2017.  These licences extend on a non-exclusive basis in perpetuity for the ELRS and until 2047 for writs.  Teranet has leveraged its core capabilities to create electronic service offerings in complementary information and e-commerce areas.  For more information on Teranet and Teranet Income Fund, please visit http://www.teranet.ca.

 

 

 

Margaret Turano
Director Communications and PR United States
T +1 617 242 0725
margaret.turano@agfa.com

 

Frederique Depraetere
Global PR Manager Agfa HealthCare
T +32 (0)3 444 80 06
frederique.depraetere@agfa.com

 

Johan Jacobs
Corporate Press Relations Manager Agfa-Gevaert NV
T +32 (0)3 444 80 15
johan.jacobs@agfa.com