Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 24 | Page 16

NEWS Dutch hospital consolidates medical imaging with Sectra solution I nternational medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company, Sectra, will instal its enterprise imaging solution at the Dutch hospital, Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei. The solution provides a single point of access to all images, videos and data across multiple departments and thereby reduces IT complexity and improves patient outcomes through increased clinical workflow efficiency. “In talking to other hospitals, it was clear to us that Sectra provides great support and has the knowledge to help achieve efficient workflows based on customer-specific needs,” said Eric Quak, Manager Health Support at Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei. “Choosing a vendor that works closely with its customers and truly understands their challenges and opportunities is important The solution will reduce IT complexity and improve patient outcomes to ensure that current and future needs are met.” Sectra will provide Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei with a shared solution across its departments for radiology, nuclear medicine and cardiology. The solution will also be integrated with its EMR. This will enable access and sharing of images and information across the entire clinical pathway and provide clinicians with a complete patient record. In addition, the solution also includes Sectra Image Exchange Portal, which enables secure sharing and collaboration around images and information with others outside the hospital when needed – for example, other healthcare providers, patients and insurance companies. The contract was signed in October 2019 and the Sectra solution will handle approximately 250,000 examinations annually. ////////////////// Industry expert comments on Labour party’s vow to offer free broadband for all T he Labour party has revealed plans to deliver fast and free full fibre-broadband in its mission to connect communities across Britain. The aim is to bring parts of BT into public ownership and create a new British Broadband public service. Labour intends to fund the development through its Green Transformation fund and tax multinational tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. Leader of the party, Jeremy Corbyn, issued a speech outlining the plans. He said: “A Labour government will make broadband free for everybody. And not just any broadband, but the very fastest. Full-fibre broadband to every home, in every part of our country, for free – as a universal public service.” Industry expert, Evan Dixon, Managing Director, Viasat Europe, commented on the announcement: “Coupled with [Boris] Johnson’s enthusiasm for fibre, this announcement shows that both parties see 16 INTELLIGENTCIO this as a major issue for the nation. We may even see this turn into a broadband, not Brexit, election. “However, the fixation on fibre is still a worry. Regardless of whether broadband is subsidised or left to the free market, a true national broadband service needs to reach every inch of the country. Even in those nations with the most advanced broadband infrastructure, fibre cannot connect everyone. Any true national broadband programme needs to use multiple technologies – from fibre to 5G to satellite – to give everyone from consumers to emergency services the connectivity they need, when they need it. At the same time, broadband strategy can’t exist in a vacuum but has to form part of a national industrial strategy aimed at making Britain a high-tech nation. And for that, time to deployment has to be taken into consideration.” www.intelligentcio.com