Hospital now connected to Diagnostic Imaging Network
North Bay General Hospital News Release ************************ North Bay General Hospital has become the first hospital to start sending patient information to the Northern and Eastern Diagnostic Imaging Network (NEODIN), a repository of medical im
North Bay General Hospital has become the first hospital to start sending patient information to the Northern and Eastern Diagnostic Imaging Network (NEODIN), a repository of medical images and associated doctors’ reports that will connect to hospitals throughout northern and eastern Ontario.
“NEODIN is one of many projects being undertaken to implement an Electronic Health Record (EHR) in Ontario,” said Marc Bouchard, Chair of the NEODIN Management Committee and CIO/CPO of both North Bay General Hospital and Northeast Mental Health Centre. “This project will benefit patients directly by granting doctors enhanced access to important diagnostic information, resulting in better treatment for patients.”
NEODIN is one of four Diagnostic Imaging Repositories (DI-r) being implemented in Ontario. DI-rs digitally store medical images and reports, including X-rays, ultrasounds, MRI and CT scans in a central, secure repository. This enables authorized clinicians to view patient images no matter the location of the test or clinician, eliminating the need for physical transfer of test results and costly duplication of scans. The network permits specialists at one facility to access reports for images acquired at other hospitals, meaning faster, more convenient access to patient information for healthcare providers, allowing doctors to make more informed, timely medical decisions.
“This diagnostic imaging network will have a great impact here in North Bay and also for patients from across northern and eastern Ontario,” said Glenn Scanlan, Senior VP Corporate and Support Services, North Bay General Hospital. “NEODIN not only provides the ability to deliver better health care, it also helps maximize our capital investments by making this technology available to hospitals that could never afford it on their own.”
Forty hospitals in the North West and North East Local Integration Networks (LHINs) and 19 hospitals in the Champlain LHIN (the greater Ottawa region) are involved in the project; also referred to as NEODIN – the Northern and Eastern Ontario Diagnostic Imaging Network. When completed in 2011, sharing of images and reports through the NEODIN DI-r will service almost two million Ontarians across 840,000 square kilometres from the Manitoba border in the west to Cornwall and Hawkesbury in the east.
The project is funded by eHealth Ontario and Canada Health Infoway (Infoway). It is aligned with the digital imaging strategy and the eHealth Ontario strategy in support of the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care’s ehealth agenda and the electronic health record vision of Infoway.
“We’re delighted to see the NEODIN being made available to physicians and patients in North Bay,” said Richard Alvarez, CEO of Canada Health Infoway. “This will mean a more modern, effective health care system for patients in North Bay thanks to the progress being driven by Electronic Health Record systems.”
Rob Devitt, interim CEO eHealth Ontario said “eHealth Ontario is proud to be a funding partner on an initiative that advances health care delivery and benefits Ontarians.” “This is a perfect example of how collaboration within the health care system can deliver results that improve patient care,” he said.
