Edition 4 - Agfa HealthCare

IMPAX PACS’ unique architecture
integrates complex Croatian linguistic
requirements with HIS and nationwide
EPR at Zadar General Hospital
EPR and HIS integration, alphabet compatibility and enterprise-wide training
in digital workflows are among the unique challenges met by Agfa HealthCare
INTERVIEWEE Dr. Boris Bilic, Chief of Radiology
Hospital Zadar General Hospital, Croatia
Integrating a Picture Archiving and
Communications System (PACS) with
an already existing hospital Information
System (HIS) and Electronic Patient
Record (EPR) resulted in some extremely
unusual challenges in Croatia’s Zadar
General Hospital. The challenge was to
find a company that could customize its
solutions to accommodate the Croatian
language with its complex alphabet and
vernacular. But according to the Chief
of Radiology, Dr. Boris Bilic, the open
architecture of Agfa HealthCare’s IMPAX
PACS and the company’s technical
expertise easily addressed some critical
obstacles. The Radiology Department
significantly improved productivity while
using the same number of staff, resulting
in a better service to physicians and
clinicians throughout the institution.
A PACS solution to integrate
with HIS and nationwide EPR
A newly independent nation recognized
in 1992 by the United Nations and
the European Union, the Republic of
Croatia has grown both financially and
in population. A credit boom in 2002
and expanding tourism has led to a
highly stable market economy. It has
been accepted for EU membership,
and expects to join in the next few years.
Zadar General Hospital is a state-owned,
500-bed regional institution serving
about 180,000 residents of this costal
Adriatic Sea community. Continuous
population growth in Zadar has
increased the demand for healthcare
services from this hospital. As a result,
the Radiology Department now performs
about 85,000 procedures annually,
which includes general radiography,
Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic
Resonance (MR), digital mammography
and Ultrasound (US). The hospital also
houses the region’s primary cardiac
catheterization facility, making Zadar
second only to the nation’s capital,
Zagreb, as a major cardiac center.
AGFA HealthCare’s CONTRIBUTION
» IMPAX PACS version 6.
In 2006, the Radiology Department
under its Chief of Radiology,
Dr. Boris Bilic, realized that its
conventional workflows and information
sharing with referring physicians and
staff were inadequate to meet the
growing demand. “Creating a hospitalwide
EPR – to be connected to the
nationwide EPR – required a fully digital
workflow integrating a department-wide
PACS with the pre-existing HIS,” he says. ›››
“Few other large firms we met
had Agfa HealthCare’s depth
of experience and information
technology knowledge, not to
mention an ongoing presence
in our country.”
Dr. Boris Bilic, Chief of Radiology
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