by
Barbara Kram, Editor | September 26, 2006
HELSINKI, FINLAND -- Eastman Kodak Company has struck an exclusive managed service agreement with Turku University Hospital to support archiving and web-viewing services for the Satakunta Region in Finland.
Under the agreement, Kodak will deploy KODAK CARESTREAM PACS and Information Management Solutions to allow the regions 4 hospitals and 24 municipalities to centrally archive, view and manage 200,000 annual patient studies hosted by the Turku Data Centre.
As with other e-health initiatives in Finland such as RATU, the system components are purchased and owned by the healthcare organization with a third party undertaking the management of the service and systems integration. Unusually in this case, each hospital in the Satakunta region will purchase imaging services from Turku University Hospital working on a fixed payment per exam. This agreement is the first of its kind in Finland.

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Phase One of the agreement will involve the installation of upgraded Kodak PACS, archiving and web solutions into Turku University Hospital and Data Centre. Two central hospitals in the region, Satakunta Central Hospital and Rauma Hospital, will also receive local PACS components to advance functionality. Integration is currently on schedule and is anticipated that workflow will commence in September 2006.
Phase Two is scheduled for 2007 when local PACS installation will take place in the remaining 2 hospitals and 24 municipalities across the region to complete functionality. The application of Kodak architecture in the Turku Data Centre will facilitate the integration of data from a diverse range of systems and virtually all types of multi-media information across the region into one central storage platform.
Health organisations across Europe often have limited resources available, which slows the adoption of new technologies, said IT Manager Yrj Koivusalo, Turku University Hospital. Kodaks Health Group and Turku University Hospital have enjoyed a close working relationship for the past decade. This latest innovative agreement enables Turku to offer advanced digital technology to hospitals across the Satakunta region at a set fee per exam, whilst offsetting the cost of the infrastructure as part of their operational budget, rather than through total investment.
About Kodaks Health Group
Kodaks Health Group, with 2005 revenues of $2.65 billion, is a world leader in supplying the medical and dental professions with advanced healthcare products, services and information technology solutions. Its broad portfolio includes picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), radiology information systems (RIS), healthcare information systems, computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) systems, laser imagers, mammography and oncology systems, x-ray film systems, dental imaging products, and a range of consultingas well as repair and maintenanceservices.
Kodak is the worlds foremost imaging innovator, providing leading products and services to not only healthcare customers, but to the photographic and graphic communications markets. With sales of $14.3 billion in 2005, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work. Consumers use Kodaks system of digital and traditional image capture products and services to take, print and share their pictures anytime, anywhere; Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using Kodak solutions for prepress, conventional and digital printing and document imaging; and Creative Professionals rely on Kodak technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images.
For more information about Kodaks Health Group, contact your Kodak representative or visit www.kodak.com/go/health.
Kodak and Carestream are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company
2006