TBRHSC Enhances Diagnostic Imaging – Receives $336,000 to Improve Physician Access

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has received a significant donation from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation (TBRHSF) which will help to enhance its Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) in Northwestern Ontario. Between the increased number of PACS stations and the recent additions to broadband infrastructure and Telehealth funding, Northwestern Ontario has one of the most comprehensive digital networks in Canada, with connectivity through the internet to the rest of the world. The technology inherent in this network only continues to improve.

These access to care improvements to the system come at a time when TBRHSC is aggressively attempting to reduce patient wait times and patient coordination. “We are absolutely committed to reducing patient wait times for diagnostic tests and surgical treatments,” said Ron Saddington, President & CEO of TBRHSC. “This patient care improvement committee is aligned with the Ministry of Health’s Health Results agenda and the enhancements to our digital radiography program will only help us achieve these new wait time reduction standards.”

Fourteen new Clinical Review (CR) Stations, all funded by the TBRHSF, provides greater physician access to the new MRI, CT, X-Ray, Ultrasound and Mammography test results. The TBRHSF contributed $336,000 towards the effort, all part of their ‘Reduce the Wait’ Campaign. “This campaign is extremely important,” said Georgie Hari, President of the TBRHSF. “The focus is on reducing wait times and improving access to services right now, so we naturally want to ensure that our investments contribute to such a laudable and impactful mandate.”

Foundation Donation 02 The PACS stations are positioned strategically throughout the Health Sciences Centre, in such areas as Ambulatory Care, Paediatrics, Surgical Wards, Oncology In-Patient Unit, Renal & Stroke Areas, Diabetes & Respiratory Areas, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Emergency, Labour & Delivery, Telehealth, Intensive Care, Operating Rooms, and the Fracture Clinic. The wait times for elective procedures have dropped significantly over the last year, but fluctuate with patient volumes and ordered procedures. “These new additions to our digital network will dramatically improve physician access and time in which they can view any patient image,” stated Michael Power, Vice President, Regional Cancer and Diagnostic Services. “We now have access to these stations on every pod, and all of the main areas in the entire facility. With our increased patient volumes, these stations enhance our access immeasurably.” These new Clinical Review stations greatly enhance the accessibility for our physicians and specialists to view patient images in the right place (in close proximity of the patients’ primary care area), provide the tools to view images quickly, enabling improvements in workflow, provide the tools to view current and previous images side-by-side simultaneously on two monitors, provide image enhancement tools, provide the tools to enhance consultations as well as Telehealth consultations across the region and other health care facilities across the province.

Foundation Donation 04 In keeping with the technologic advancements within the Health Sciences Centre and partners and colleagues across Northwestern Ontario, the Honourable Joe Comuzzi has committed his ‘New North’ concept to a finely tuned ideal, with technologic and digital connectivity across the region. Mr. Comuzzi’s accomplishments, initiatives, and plans for the North are in keeping with the TBRHSC’s mandate to provide timely access and care across the entire region. “When we saw the direction that healthcare was going in Northwestern Ontario, we have been extremely pleased to partner with them on a number of initiatives,” stated Mr. Comuzzi, MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. “Having lived and worked in this area my entire life, I understand the absolute necessity of having a traveling time cut down, access to a service granted that much sooner, or having knowledge delivered in a timely fashion. With continued partnerships and developments, we will ensure that our digital systems are connecting all of the appropriate organizations and providing the greatest access and timely services for this ‘information highway’, which has become as important as sewers, roads, and clean water.”

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