Greater Manchester reaches milestone in go-live to support faster diagnoses through PACS-based reporting

Radiologists and radiographers at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust have started using Sectra PACS to report on diagnostic imaging. Deployed as part of an enterprise imaging agreement signed with Sectra in 2020, the PACS is already used by clinicians in NHS hospitals that are part of the Greater Manchester Imaging Network to view, analyse and interrogate millions of patient scans including x-ray, CT, ultrasound and MRI. For the first time, and as part of the same agreement, it is now being used to report on radiology examinations.

Reporters at Northern Care Alliance’s Bury, Rochdale and Oldham site can now use a single platform where they can view and report on imaging, rather than having to navigate a separate system to complete important reports that inform patient care and diagnoses.

The trust’s Salford site will soon follow before a phased go-live of PACS-based reporting takes place in all eight NHS trusts across Greater Manchester throughout 2024. Digital diagnostic systems lead for Greater Manchester Imaging Network Leighan Beesley said: “Providing our reporters with one reliable platform on which they can both view images and report is key in sustaining effective diagnostic services for patients. This will create efficiencies that could free up as much as 10 per cent of the time spent on many reports and that will help us to enhance turnaround times for a vital part of the diagnostic process.

“As PACS-based reporting spreads across Greater Manchester, this will also help us to make best use of specialist diagnostic expertise in the region through cross-site reporting. If one trust has a  long waiting list for a particular examination, the technology will be there to allow others to step in. This is about breaking down traditional trust boundaries with a system our staff already trust, as well as improving equitable access to expertise for all our patients, regardless of where they live in the region.”

Structured reporting templates will help to ensure uniform reports in complex areas including MRI prostate and CT colonoscopy scans. This will help to reduce reporting variation and will also make it easier for referring clinicians to evaluate reports, while creating the potential for new research opportunities from standardised data.

Integrated communication tools for critical alerts are also expected to allow reporters to flag a report as significant or requiring urgent attention. When this functionality is enabled in later stages of the project, it will trigger messages to referrers and specialists such as cancer teams.

Picture: Sectra PACS provides structured reporting templates to ensure uniform reports in complex areas including MRI prostate and CT colonoscopy scans.

Published on page 12 of the May 2024 issue of RAD Magazine.