UK NHS Digital X-Rays Rollout to Be Completed By 2008

Digital x-rays designed to speed up diagnosis and shorten waits are being used in every hospital trust in London and will be available across the country by 2008, the UK Department of Health has announced.

The department expects faster diagnoses for patients and a saving in excess of GBP6.2 million in the first year of service, approximately GBP250,000 per year for each London trust. 92 trusts and over 250 hospitals across the country have already installed digital x-ray technology as part of the national program for IT.

Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for health, said, “The digital image will follow the patient wherever they go and will be able to be recalled whenever and wherever they need to be accessed by a patient’s healthcare professional. Hospitals will no longer have to pay for film, doctors will be able to diagnose treatment quicker and patients will receive a faster, better service.”

The x-ray system, picture archiving and communications system (PACS), is replacing is replacing the old way of capturing x-rays and scans on film and paper. It enables clinical images such as x-rays and scans to be stored electronically and viewed on screen – much like a digital camera. Health professionals can look at these images and compare them with previous ones at the touch of a button, wherever and whenever they want to.

According to department figures, the number of patients currently able to benefit from PACS is about 39 million based on SHA populations, approximately 80% of the total population of England. Completion of national coverage of PACS is expected in late 2007 early 2008.