January 8, 2009 - The Pan-Northern Ontario PACS Project (PNOPP), aimed at bringing a digital imaging service to healthcare providers across the North, is becoming a reality in Sault Ste. Marie with the formalization of a partnership agreement between Sault Area Hospital (SAH) and the Group Health Association (GHA).

“We are pleased to report that SAH and the Group Health Association have partnered in this exciting project to share digital imaging services in the Sault,” says Marc Bouchard, Director of Information & Communication Technology at SAH. According to Bouchard, SAH is one of five hubs in Northern Ontario responsible for hosting this technology and GHA represents one of the spokes.

Greg Punch, GHA’s Director, Corporate Development said: “The GHA acknowledges the generous financial support provided by FedNor and PNOPP to assist with the PACS implementation at Group Health Centre (GHC).  Without it, this project would not have been possible. Also, mammography through PACS, although not funded by FedNor, is something that we are putting in place. In most cases, for GHC patients, the need to obtain a CD or film image for outside consultations will be eliminated. The time between the diagnostic examination and results reporting will also be streamlined.”

This partnership allows shared access to the Radiology Information System (RIS), which interfaces with SAH’s Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) - a digital imaging system that replaces traditional films and stores digital images including x-rays, CTs and MRIs.

“The RIS allows care providers at SAH to schedule patient appointments for radiology and enables physicians to enter their diagnostic test orders,” explains Bouchard.

In addition to shared access to PACS, SAH and GHC will have access to a Diagnostic Imaging Repository (DIR), which will be shared by health care providers across Northern Ontario.

“The goal is to have one central repository for all digital imaging that could be accessed by all care providers across the North,” says Bouchard. “For example, if a cancer patient travels to Sudbury for treatment and then returns to our community, SAH and GHC care providers will have access to any digital images that were taken in Sudbury.”

In March 2006, the government of Ontario established the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). The two Northern Ontario LHINs embarked on an ambitious plan to develop a Pan-Northern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Blueprint. The ICT Blueprint serves as a guide to integrate electronic healthcare systems from one provincial border to the other, bringing together healthcare sectors from across the entire continuum of care.

This partnership between SAH and GHA is part of the ICT Blueprint and will bring our community one step closer to presenting residents of Northern Ontario with a plan to create a world-class healthcare system in which information is available when and where it is needed. 

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*Note:  Attached is a photo of Valerie Skalecki, Diagnostic Imaging Department Head at GHC, and Dan Lachowich, PACS Administrator for SAH, unpacking boxes, to prepare for testing of the new equipment, required for implementation of PACS.

For further information, contact:
Mario Paluzzi, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Sault Area Hospital, Tel:  705-759-3837

Elizabeth Bodnar, Senior Manager, Corporate Relations, Group Health Association, Tel: 705-759-5529