Spire and Carestream put PACS on tablets

Spire Healthcare has implemented Carestream Health’s Vue Motion viewer so clinicians can view patient images on iPads and Android devices.

The viewer will give clinicians at the private hospital network secure, on-demand access to its picture archiving and communications systems. 

They will be able to see PACS images from all 37 sites in the Spire network, 27 of which use Carestream PACS and ten of which use PACS from another provider.

They will also be able to access images from home via a secure internet connection, and use iPad and Android devices to show images to patients at the bedside or on the way to theatre.

Spire has been trialling the zero-footprint viewer at a number of its hospitals since the turn of the year, providing 20 consultants with imaging data and reports.

John Hill, PACS manager for Spire, said the feedback has been positive, encouraging the group to commence a full roll-out.

“As a result of this new technology, our consultants can see reports faster and learn of a diagnosis quicker as access to patient results is no longer tethered to a workstation within their consulting room,” he said.

The viewer can also be embedded in an electronic patient record to enable authorised users to quickly and easily view patient data and images with a single log-in.

“This will improve workflow and in some cases eliminate the need for the patient to return to the clinic for the follow-up” said Hill.

Saskia Groeneveld, Carestream’s Europe regional marketing manager for healthcare information solutions, said: “Vue Motion is easy to deploy.

“As a zero-footprint viewer, there is no need to download any additional software due to there being no storage or technology prerequisites.”