AUGUST 23--Xanser Corp. (Dallas, TX; formerly Kaneb Services Inc.) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Xtria (www.xtria.com) has been selected by Lahey Clinic Medical Center (Burlington, MA) for a $10 million, multiyear project. Xtria, a provider of knowledge-management services, will design, implement, integrate, and support a complete digital imaging and telemedicine solution, including a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).
In the three-phase project, Xtria Healthcare Services division will integrate a PACS with Lahey Clinic's Radiology Information System and Hospital Information System to present digital radiology images and administrative and patient information directly to staff workstations. The goal is to dramatically improve patient care and efficiency, as well as to increase the clinical and financial contribution of the radiology department to Lahey Clinic.
The integrated communication network will enable physicians to share studies and results electronically, and digital imaging technologies will increase the throughput of imaging studies by 200% to 300%. The system also will allow information to be shared between the Lahey Clinic facility in Massachusetts and international locations through secure Web-based and dedicated wide-area connections. Beyond the benefits to patients and medical staff, the system will greatly reduce the costs associated with traditional, film-based radiology imaging, which requires processing, storing, and distributing images in film libraries.
During the first phase of the project, Xtria will deploy the core PACS servers in support of the orthopedic department, speeding up the imaging process and allowing department staff to share and simultaneously view radiology images and associated clinical data. The second phase of the project will bring the same level of access to all departments of Lahey Clinic. In the third phase, nationwide clinic facilities will gain access to the system. Once the project is complete, Xtria will provide ongoing system administration, user-training, and maintenance services. Additionally, Xtria will upgrade the system's hardware and software at three and five year intervals.
