ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- West Penn Allegheny Health System, Pittsburgh, Pa., has ordered picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and enterprise information management (EIM) as well as project management, data migration and integration services from Eastman Kodak Company's Health Group.

The health system conducted an extensive evaluation process prior to selecting the KODAK CARESTREAM PACS for The Western Pennsylvania Hospital and Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh and The Western Pennsylvania Hospital Forbes Regional Campus in Monroeville, Pa.

"We needed a vendor that could work on design and implementation at three sites concurrently and was equipped to perform smooth desktop integration with our selected radiology information system (RIS)," said Nick Valadja, Vice President and CIO of West Penn Allegheny Health System. "Kodak proved they had expertise to handle this task, and we are on schedule for all three hospitals to go live within three months. PACS is one part of our comprehensive information systems strategy to provide our caregivers with access to patient care information anytime or anywhere."

This contract is a five-year operating lease in which the health system pays for equipment and services on a usage basis. Implementation is underway, and the RIS/PACS solution at all three hospitals is expected to be operational this fall.

Kodak's Professional Services organization will manage this large-scale project, which involves replacing an existing PACS at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital and installing PACS for the first time at the two other facilities. Kodak will migrate data from the existing PACS and will provide desktop integration of its PACS with an IDX RIS platform at all locations. Kodak's solution will also include real-time replication of RIS/PACS data at the health system's data center to address disaster recovery needs.

This solution will also extend beyond the radiology department: A KODAK CARESTREAM Enterprise Information Management Solution will equip the healthcare system to manage images and information stored in dozens of existing patient care and office applications, including at a new outpatient imaging center in McCandless, Pa.

"Incorporating the PACS system into West Penn Allegheny's clinical operations will greatly enhance patient care by facilitating computer access to diagnostic images anywhere within our facilities, remotely in physician offices or even at physicians' homes. Patients, particularly those whose care involves a variety of physicians within the system, will notice a more seamless, efficient level of care with this technology," according to H. Scott Beasley, Chairman of Department of Radiology at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital.

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