Five government hospitals now interconnected
Thanks to the installation of the latest technology, five state hospitals across the country are now connected with eachother to enable remote diagnoses.It is the largest deployment of its kind in Namibia, with five hospitals that are connected, despite the great distances that separate them.
The Fujifilm Synapse RIS (Radiology Information System) and Photo Archive and Communication System (PACS) platforms serve the Windhoek Central and Katutura State Hospitals in the capital, the Oshakati and Onandjokwe State Hospitals, as well as the Rundu Interim Hospital.
In May, the Ministry of Health and Social Services awarded the tender to the medical distributor, Uni Medical Supplies, which was instrumental in the planning and installation of the system, which officially came into operation in March this year.
Fujifilm's Synapse RIS/PACS system ensures the efficient management of information related to radiological examinations in the hospitals concerned. The RIS platform helps with scheduling and reporting radiology appointments. Any images required, whether CT scans or X-rays, are stored digitally on the PACS system which doctors can access and diagnose the patient.
This means that patients in distant areas can be diagnosed from a distance. Thanks to the system, all information and images that doctors need are immediately available digitally, which means that a doctor based in Windhoek can diagnose a patient in Rundu without having to travel there. It shortens the time for treatment and also tackles the issue of availability of healthcare for patients in remote areas.
Four out of the five hospitals are now also equipped with the latest artificial intelligence (AI) platform, REiLI, which detects any abnormalities in breasts and also the chest. Using AI, REiLI examines patients' radiological images (scans or X-rays) to highlight any abnormalities such as a mass or lesion that radiologists can investigate further. REiLI can highlight 33 different abnormalities including the presence of tuberculosis, a punctured lung, pneumonia or a broken rib. This alleviates the time burden often experienced by staff to study the images themselves, with more patients now able to be treated especially in the case of after-hours emergencies.
All data is stored on servers in the Ministry of Health's data center in Windhoek.
The Synapse RIS and PACS platforms have already been successfully implemented in several hospitals around the world, including in Japan, America, India and South Africa.
The managing director of Fujifilm South Africa, Taro Kawano, emphasized that the RIS/PACS platform will help to improve the overall health and well-being of Namibians.