MYSTERIAN. Radiology Manager. NHS Western Isles Health Board Case Study. NHS Western Isles Health Board Case Study

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1 Radiology Manager NHS Western Isles Health Board Case Study "My favourite feature of Radiology Manager is the secure transmission of images over the internet from the comfort of my own home" Dr John Murchison, Consultant Radiologist, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary

2 The Location: NHS Western Isles Hospital Serving a community of about 25,000 people, the Western Isles Hospital (WIH) in Stornoway is the only hospital on the Isle of Lewis in the North West of Scotland. The location is remote, the nearest large hospital is150 miles away across the sea in Inverness, and the WIH also suffers from a nationwide problem affecting the NHS a shortage of radiologists. The Problem: Shortage of radiology Cover During out of hours times, there is often no consultant radiologist available to provide assistance. In such scenarios, patients have to be flown by air ambulance to Inverness Raigmore Hospital, or to some other hospital on mainland Scotland. The drawbacks in this situation are manifold. The distress and inconvenience caused to the patient is enormous, diagnosis and treatment is significantly delayed, and the cost of flying a patient to a hospital on mainland Scotland is approximately 5000 per flight. Working together on medical images: "Radiology Manager offers huge advantages in terms of getting a patient s medical images to a consultant, and receiving a report back quickly and efficiently" Malcolm McNinch, Radiography Services Manager, Western Isles Hospital. The Solution: Radiology Manager from Mysterian IT Head Eddy Yates had previously decided to adopt Groove within his department for project management and team collaboration purposes. Eddy and his team were highly impressed with Groove s security guarantees and rich functionality. Following discussions with IT, the radiography department, WIH clinicians and radiologists from the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Mysterian were commissioned by NHS Western Isles Health Board to build Radiology Manager, a Groove-based teleradiology solution. Unlike traditional PACS and web-based solutions, Radiology Manager can be used securely anywhere on the Internet without costly servers and bespoke security infrastructure.

3 User Profile: Radiography Department, Western Isles Hospital Dealing with these issues on a daily basis is Malcolm McNinch, Radiography Services Manager in the WIH. For several months, Malcolm and his staff have been closely involved in the development and beta testing of Mysterian s Radiology Manager, using it in the diagnosis of a complicated case or during out of hours times when a consultant radiologist is unavailable. Malcolm drove hard to get Mysterian s Radiology Manager up and running in his department and is a champion of the product. Dynamic images can be viewed, conversation can be held in instant messaging format with the potential of voice being added, the layout is clear and recognisable, and minimal training was required, says Malcolm. He goes on to say, Using such a system should have great advantages to the Western Isles Health Community as a whole. I believe it offers us a much more cost-effective solution than other products currently available. Malcolm s most compelling reason for getting Mysterian s Radiology Manager up and running in his department was location. He saw the huge advantages Radiology Manager has to offer in terms of getting a patient s medical images to a consultant, and receiving a report back quickly and efficiently so that the patient can be treated without delay.

4 Real-Life Scenario There is a road traffic accident on the west-side of Lewis in which a woman is seriously injured. She is rushed to WIH by ambulance where several x-rays are taken. It appears that ribs are cracked and that her lungs may be crushed. The woman requires urgent medical assistance. There is, however, no consultant radiologist onsite to assess the patient s injuries. Treatment cannot go ahead until medical staff have made absolutely certain the nature and extent of the injuries. Before Radiology Manager, there would have been no option but to transfer the patient to the mainland by air ambulance. This would have delayed diagnosis and treatment and caused considerable distress to the patient. Now, the situation is very different. The radiographer simply adds the patient s medical images to Radiology Manager in the appropriate Groove workspace, and alerts a consultant radiologist, in Edinburgh, Glasgow, or anywhere in the world, that a diagnosis is urgently required for a patient in the WIH in Stornoway. The remote radiologist can then access the medical images at home or at work the data is synchronised automatically with his or her machine. The radiologist then sends a report back to the WIH and treatment can begin without delay. This all happens in real time and it happens extremely securely. As Radiographers, it gives us the advantage of having a radiologist to back us up when needed as we are often without their physical presence, says Malcolm. Utilising Groove for image review can ensure patients are transferred promptly to the correct speciality unit or, indeed, save patients having an unnecessary trip to the mainland. Reporting back quickly and securely: The radiographer adds medical images to Radiology Manager and alerts a consultant radiologist, anywhere in the world. The remote radiologist can access the images at home or at work the data is synchronised automatically - and send a report back to clinicians quickly; all in real time and with extreme security.

5 Clinical Trials Radiology Manager entered clinical earlier this year. Dr Iain Riach, locum Consultant Radiologist at WIH and Dr John Murchison, Consultant Radiologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary performed the first diagnoses with the system. The trials have been a resounding success. For further information contact Mysterian: Mysterian Ltd Harbour View Stornoway Isle of Lewis Scotland UK HS1 2DF Tel: info@mysterian.com Web: Mysterian All Rights Reserved