The Havelland Hospitals, located in the cities of Nauen and Rathenow - near Berlin - offer their patients a broad range of services which are based on interdisciplinary cooperation. The hospitals have room for 500 patients. Departments include internal medicine, surgery, traumatology, gynecology, pediatrics & neonatal intensive care, maternity ward, intensive care, emergency room, cardiology, urology and radiology.

Initially the Havelland Hospitals were using a different PAC system, but a multitude of data in various systems could not be processed which lead to dissatisfaction with the existing solution. The hospital got in touch with IMAGE Information Systems, and Dr. Arpad Bischof presented our VNA solution on site. After the hospital had contacted a satisfied reference customer who was already using a VNA solution from IMAGE, the decision was made in favor of iQ-VNA.

The implementation took place in a server farm with one virtual iQ machine. The legacy data was migrated via customized scripts and more than 400 DICOM devices were connected with the VNA, including:

• CT/MRT
• X-ray
• Left heart catheter lab
• Fluoroscopy
  • Wound management
  • Intravascular ultrasound
  • DICOM camera
  • CD robots
  • C-arm X-ray unit
  • Cath lab – EP and normal
  • mediCAD for preoperative planning
  • Colposcope
  • Endoscopy
  • Uroscopy
  • Gastroscopy
  • Bronchoscopy
  • Colonoscopy

Beside the usage in the hospital, the VNA system is shared with the medical care centers belonging to the Havelland Hospital group to provide a close interaction between the facilities. The interfaces with the electronic medical record are based on HL7 and XGT standards. Cooperation is a major topic within the group of the Havelland Hospital and its collaboration partners, especially in neurology and cardiology. Studies are easily sent and received using the iQ software components for shared anamneses to external partner hospitals.

In summation, the doctors at the Havelland Hospitals are very satisfied with the iQ-VNA solution: a full Vendor Neutral Archive with SAP integration and connection of more than 400 DICOM devices. Based on the testimony of the hospital technicians, the iQ-VNA is easy to maintain and the central support of IMAGE Information Systems always reacts quickly and in a solution-focused manner.

The system has been constantly running since the implementation with only minimal downtimes for scheduled updates. The fact that there is only a single virtual machine with iQ-WEB and other iQ services at the heart of the system also results in customer satisfaction due to easy maintenance and minimal resource usage.

The Havelland Hospital Group is pleased to present itself as a reference implementation to future iQ customers.

Personal View from Frank Duba, Head of IT Management:

“Initially, we had a PAC system dedicated to radiology data; all other data like endoscopy or video documentation had their own systems. One of our targets was to implement a ‘one system’ solution - after a short investigation we found IMAGE Information Systems/iQ and started the evaluation. With satisfying results and fair financial conditions for purchase and maintenance, the decision was made to go with iQ.

The basic implementation was effectively automated and quick to set up, the most time-consuming part was the import of legacy data. We immediately switched all the devices from the old PACS to the new system and started the import of the legacy data beginning with the newest items. During the transfer time users needed to access the old system to review older data, but within 12 months after the start of migrating to iQ we shut down the old PACS. At this time, we started to implement new devices and new data types into iQ - like endoscopy and surgery videos - working towards our target to have a single system. In the end it took about 3 years to switch all devices to iQ and to import more than a decade of data into the new database; throughout the whole process the team from IMAGE always delivered a very satisfying level of support.

After training the medical staff, the users are happy with the functionality and improved performance of the system. The majority uses the web solution—only a few doctors run the iQ client software to have some more advanced features.

Looking back, we made the right decision to switch to iQ. We have a stable system and very good support with IMAGE; all the issues during import and implementation of new devices have been solved to satisfaction, and all ‘everyday’ issues are always solved almost immediately.

The iQ software - no matter if the web-based solution or fat client - is a product of continuous improvement: new features and refinements have been provided with every update. The solution is so long-term stable as to have only one major update in 2 years, resulting in easy maintenance for our local IT team.

The roadmap for future functions and modules confirms that we made the right decision in 2015.”