Software optimises departmental performance to cut radiology delays at west Hertfordshire trust

Specialists at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust say that software developed by radiology technology company Hexarad could be transformative for cutting scan waiting times and ensuring patients are treated as soon as possible.

Clinical director of radiology at the trust Dr Nina Breunung-Joshi explained: “Like NHS trusts all over the country, among our top priorities are getting patients seen, getting the results of their scans as quickly as possible and prioritising reports, but workforce shortages and the rising demand for scans is making this increasingly difficult.

“An efficient and user-friendly tool for capacity forecasting, list scheduling, cover of acute services and scan allocation can really speed things up and improve patient outcomes and safety, as these tasks take up valuable clinical and administrative time. We are now working with Hexarad, and its OptiRad technology is working across our whole radiology department to find efficiencies, improve our performance and enable demand and capacity planning, as well as identify any rota gaps in the acute service for short-term cover. We are looking forward to seeing the results of our partnership with Hexarad as we feel that this technology could be transformative.”

OptiRad is a cloud-based software tool that eliminates unnecessary radiology delays by optimising how a radiology department works. This includes forecasting capacity, delivering performance analytics and performing key administration tasks that would otherwise have to be performed by a radiologist. For example, OptiRad can process and allocate thousands of scans in minutes, says Hexarad, cutting down the time it takes to allocate a scan to a radiologist by approximately 90 per cent.

Picture: OptiRad can process and allocate thousands of scans in minutes.

Published on page 16 of the August 2024 issue of RAD Magazine.