Pictures of the Future       Fall 2005

Putting IT into Practice

Whether for teleradiology or a therapy center, Siemens’ medical equipment and information technology guarantee fully integrated clinical processes at the Passau Radiology Center.

The Passau Radiology Center in southeastern Germany is a for-profit medical organization that provides ample proof that doctors can be outstanding entrepreneurs. The center was established 14 years ago by its four founding members with the aim of continuously improving the quality of diagnostic radiology, and it has been expanding its activities ever since. It started by helping to set up a medical equipment depot at the Passau Clinic, soon acquired CT and MR tomographs, established an Institute of Diagnostic Radiology in the center of Passau, and founded one branch office after another. "Siemens was our strategic partner from the very beginning. The company not only supplied ultra-modern technical equipment and IT; it also created detailed business plans for us," says Dr. Stefan Braitinger, head of the Passau Radiology Center.

The doctors’ business venture now comprises ten partners and 72 employees and has annual sales of approximately €14 million. Its core is a large shared practice that insays cludes a well-established radiology center, an OR area and, since April 2004, a center for radiation therapy. "Right from the outset, we wanted to expand from diagnostics to therapy," says Braitinger. "Our goal was to fully integrate the new radiotherapy unit into our workflow management. We wanted to have only one electronic file per patient, one digital picture archive, and all of this on a joint IT platform." Today, the entire clinical process is fully digitized, from central appointment calendar to diagnostics, including X-ray image archiving, therapy planning and documentation of cancer patients’ radiation therapy. "Thanks to digitization, we save a lot of time, and we use that time to provide consultation with our patients. The doctor and the patient sit together in front of the monitor. The doctor calls up the patient’s X-ray images with the press of a button and explains the diagnosis," Braitinger says.

Teleradiology has also been successfully practiced here for years. "A total of 17 medical practices are linked in our teleradiology network. We use a secure point-to-point link to transmit the diagnosis and the images created in our clinic to the referring physician, who may be an orthopedist, neurologist or surgeon," says Braitinger. Thanks to the markings on the images, the referring physician knows immediately what he or she needs to look for. If any points are still unclear, the diagnosis is discussed on the phone.

"We also provide five clinics in the surrounding area with radiological solutions for diagnosis as well as for therapy. The images from these clinics’ emergency diagnostics departments are sent via data transmission systems to our central office in Passau for diagnosis. We’re open around the clock, 365 days a year," Braitinger adds. "Whether we’re talking about teleradiology or the therapy center, Siemens has proved itself a reliable and expert partner." And the outstanding cooperation is by no means over. Plans call for the center for radiation therapy to be expanded and for a new branch to be opened by June 2006.
                                                                                                         Ulrike Zechbauer