Leeds gets teeth into PACS

Leeds Dental Institute has signed a contract with Infinitt for a dental picture archiving and communications system.

The dental institute, which is run jointly by the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, will begin implementing the PACS in February and hopes to go-live with the system by April this year.

The institute uses film which needs to be processed and developed. The PACS, which is a part of the institute’s electronic patient records programme, will allow digital dental images to be viewed on any computer in the trust.

Project manager for the trust’s informatics programme Deborah Gill told eHealth Insider that the PACS would improve clinicians’ workflow and patient care.

“There are clinical risks associated with film processing. It’s also not as accessible and clinicians have to wait for film to develop. Once we digitise, they will be able to look at it at the point of care with the patient,” she said.

“We’ll be able to be more proactive and when there are any problems, it will be a lot more obvious.”

The Infinitt web-based image management system will integrate with the institute’s intraoral x-ray devices as well as other dental imaging equipment.

“The efficiency and accessibility will improve dramatically, and it will also reduce costs,” said Gill.

“It makes life easier for clinicians all around.”

It will also enable staff to use Leeds Teaching Hospitals’ existing HSS radiology information system for reporting of dental exams and link the information to the patient records.

The contract includes software installation and server hardware, as well as reporting and acquisition workstations at both the main Leeds Dental Institute site and Seacroft Hospital in East Leeds.

The dental institute went out to tender for the PACS in 2011 and Gill said choosing Infinitt was an easy decision.

“Infinitt came out on top. The product is excellent and we really like their approach,” she said.