35th hospital in Ireland goes live with national integrated medical imaging system

McKesson and the Health Service Executive (HSE) have announced the go-live of the 35th hospital in Ireland - St John’s Hospital, Limerick - on the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS).

Part of the HSE’s Transformation Programme, NIMIS is a national project that is steadily transforming the delivery of radiology services across Ireland by implementing advanced medical technology within hospitals to help ensure patients receive the best diagnostic solutions available in their area of treatment.

The successful go-live of NIMIS in St John’s Hospital means that all acute hospitals within the University of Limerick Hospital Group have the NIMIS system implemented and all facilities now aim to deliver a more-integrated radiology imaging service.

In 2010, McKesson was selected by HSE to provide the nationally-integrated Picture Achieve Communication System (PACS) and Radiology Information System (RIS), which will span the majority of public hospitals in the country, with the objective of making Ireland’s hospitals paperlight and filmless in radiology. Also being implemented is a fully-integrated speech recognition system for the production of radiology reports.

Keith Morrissey, acting NIMIS programme lead at the HSE, said: “NIMIS is proving transformational in the delivery of radiology services across Ireland. By connecting hospitals, and hospital groups, we are seeing improved workflows, greater staff satisfaction, and, crucially, enhanced patient care.”

In May 2015, the original contract for NIMIS was extended to include an additional seven hospitals across the country, bringing the total to 46 hospitals - 63 distinct facilities - by the end of 2016. It will then account for nearly 80% of the public hospitals across Ireland. Currently, 35 hospitals are live on NIMIS, including recent additions, The Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital; and St Mary’s Hospital.

Morrissey said: “The way in which NIMIS is being rolled out is an exemplar of large-scale project delivery. It is the single largest implementation of its kind in the world, and, moreover, is being welcomed by all stakeholders involved for the benefits it is bringing to Irish healthcare.”

Ray Cahill, executive director of international operations at McKesson, added: “The choice of the HSE to connect all of the hospitals together on one single database in NIMIS creates the perfect environment to remove inaccessibility to past images and medical information for patients - a problem that has impeded eHealth progress in the past and more importantly allows the movement of the patient through the acute health system more promptly.

“NIMIS is an example of how a long-term partnership approach between a public sector organisation and technology provider can have a transformational effect on the Irish population, and make a hugely-positive contribution to healthcare professionals’ and radiology staff’s experience, as well as the operational workings of the entire hospital system.”