Yes, many will joke about the healthcare system in the UK, but when it comes to implementing healthcare IT, they have done some impressive work, the most recent being the completion of a nationwide roll-out of a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). The PACS was implemented across the UK to facilitate the storing and retrieval of images such as X-rays, via computer rather than more cumbersome films.
In a report that was released this week, NHS stated that the last of its “Trusts”, went live December 10, 2007. Begun in 2004, the UK Government rolled-out the entire PACS program across 127 “trusts” within three years, with the last trust going liveon December 10, 2007.
And while this program is still in its infancy, NHS is already reporting some impressive results that include:
- An average savings of nearly $500,000 per trust.
- Cutting in half the turnaround time on radiology reports from an average of 6 days to 3 days and some trusts have reached turnaround times of 24hrs.
More can be found about this implementation here.
