Bradford to share images online

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has deployed McKesson’s Study Share to provide teachers with access to full imaging libraries and develop best practice around image sharing.

McKesson says the trust is the first in the UK to deploy the web-based software, which enables radiologists to organise and share images, teaching files and reference case information.

The trust will use Study Share to allow its consultant radiologist team to create and share teaching files directly from its picture archiving and communications system.

The software will also be used for case sharing and preparing documented reference cases for presentations in trust-wide meetings and conferences, as it can include radiology images, pathology slides and endoscopy photos.

The trust is part of the Leeds Bradford Radiology Academy, which provides specialist training in radiology to about 70 doctors, and hosts medical students in their clinical placements.

Louise Hattingh, a consultant radiologist at the trust, said the software is an example of how technology can “radically change” the way specialist knowledge is taught and shared.

“The move towards filmless hospitals brings with it a move towards wider collaboration and it is with this core objective in mind that we selected McKesson Study Share to underpin the way in which we operate as a hospital and teaching academy.”

Hattingh said the software makes it easier for teachers to prepare and share image files, and is also “enabling us to share knowledge and more specialised expertise” with those who cannot easily access it.

Hattingh is also a tutor for the Royal College of Radiologists, and said there are too many hospitals where clinicians do not have access to full image libraries.

“This is an utter shame for we see many interesting cases that we should be collecting for not just teaching, but knowledge enhancement.”

She said the trust’s wider objective is to develop best practice in the collation and sharing of radiology images, while conveying the benefits of knowledge sharing to other hospitals.