Birmingham signs with Agfa

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has signed a five-year contract for Agfa Healthcare’s IMPAX solution, delivered as a managed service.

The announcement follows a competitive tender to replace the trust’s National PACS Programme contract, which is due for renewal this year.

In a press release, University Hospitals Birmingham said it had chosen Agfa’s IMPAX PACS because it was the best of the three systems that bid.

Paul Brettle, deputy divisional director of operations at the trust, said: "It was not about the cheapest solution, quality was a key decision factor and we felt the Agfa HealthCare solution was the best whilst remaining value for money.

“This solution also allows us to integrate with our other hospital systems and provide a truly PACS driven workflow.”

Described as a “next generation” PACS, IMPAX adds voice recognition and business intelligence to enable improved reporting and results distribution. It will be integrated into the trust’s clinical portal and the existing HSS Radiology Information System.

The addition of the IMPAX diagnostic and clinical applications at UHB will enable radiologists and clinicians to access specialty imaging tools for diverse sets of examinations from a single workstation.

The reporting tools are embedded in the system, providing comprehensive interpretation and reporting workflow which, says Agfa, will help to decrease turnaround time whilst reducing or eliminating transcription costs.

The BI element will enable the trust to measure and monitor key performance indicators and provide real-time reporting and dashboards as well as historical reports.

University Hospitals Birmingham is a new customer for Agfa Healthcare. Grant Witheridge, general manager of Agfa HealthCare UK, said: “The imaging informatics market in the UK remains hugely competitive.

"University Hospitals Birmingham made it very clear that quality and efficiency were key decision factors and that our IMPAX product portfolio demonstrated these qualities throughout the tender process.”