Hexarad radiology software cuts diagnostic waiting times at North West Anglia

Radiology technology company Hexarad has been able to reduce diagnostic waiting times for acute and emergency care patients at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust with its radiology technology platform.
A joint pilot project showed that the overall time saved from using Hexarad’s platform is equivalent to one extra clinician per shift in a 10-doctor department.
The introduction of Hexarad’s Edge integration software has enabled further improvements to turnaround times in acute care. Using the Edge technology, the trust is now able to receive imaging reports around 20 minutes faster than before and the total time saving is up to 80 minutes per patient.
Hexarad coo and consultant radiologist Dr Jaymin Patel said: “Ultimately, the time it takes for images to transfer is time when clinicians and patients are waiting for reports, and reducing that time can cut delays. By focusing on reducing image transfer times we have been able to make some significant additional time savings, and patients at the trust are now receiving their urgent care around 15 minutes faster than they were before.
“Hours, minutes and seconds matter hugely when it comes to diagnosis, particularly in urgent care, so we think it’s important to focus on areas that might otherwise be overlooked to find ways to get patients their diagnosis more quickly.”
Radiologists reporting for the trust are now typically receiving urgent care images within 25 minutes, compared to around 45 minutes using the previous legacy system. Head CT scans can now be sent to reporting radiologists in less than five minutes.
Picture: The platform is achieving a total time saving of up to 80 minutes per patient.
Published on page 16 of the April 2024 issue of RAD Magazine.