Forcare establishes IHE-based cardiology network in Dutch hospital

The Medical Center Leeuwarden hospital in Friesland, the Netherlands, has gone live with the Regional Cardiology Network Friesland, which is a health information exchange (HIE) based on the IHE cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS) standard from Forcare BV.

The Medical Center Leeuwarden (MCL) has chosen to use the products from Forcare of Zeist, The Netherlands, to realize the HIE network. Forcare said it offers compliance to the IHE XDS profile through is for Index, forView, forConnect and forStore products.

Previously, MCL has used CDs, facsimiles and email to exchange cardiac images, reports and ECGs; it now uses the Forcare products to share clinical information with full diagnostic quality, according to the company.

“Our cardiologists love the fact that they have immediate access to diagnostic quality cardiac images, ECG waveforms and a variety of clinical reports from remote hospitals through their own workstations. Forcare’s products integrate seamlessly with our existing clinical systems. As a hospital we can now offer faster treatment to cardiac patients, reducing the burden they feel from unnecessary waiting,” said Maarten Festen, project leader at MCL.

The cardiology network is the first result of the cooperation agreement signed between the MCL and Forcare earlier this year, the company said.

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