Radiology Imaging System Picture Archiving and Communications System (RIS-PACS) is a major program focusing on upgrading medical imaging solutions across NSW, addressing functional gaps and upgrading hardware and software at or close to end of life.
The program aimed to:
- Mitigate the risk of ageing end of life solutions
- Deliver improved medical imaging services
- Provide enhanced access to patient imagery and related records
- Support more efficient workflows in the clinical setting
- Establish the foundation to include other ”ology” images in the future, creating further opportunities for collaboration within and across hospitals, local health districts (LHDs) and the broader healthcare system.
Functionality gaps in past solutions
The previous RIS-PACS solutions used by LHDs had significant functionality gaps and in some instances were at or close to end of life, requiring urgent upgrade at significant capital cost.
Not upgrading the hardware and software presented a patient safety, business efficiency and business continuity risk for the LHDs.
Multiple project benefits delivered
In March 2024, an expert reviewer conducted a Gate 6 Post Implementation Review.
The expert reviewer scored their level of confidence in the program’s delivery as a high, noting that the project had delivered the following benefits:
- Increased system availability from the reduction in frequency and length of RISPACS outages.
- Reduced cost of outages, data loss and operational risk.
- Increased accuracy of the billing process which reduces adjustments and increases revenue.
- Increased user experience and satisfaction; increased access and usability of medical images, reports, and other clinical information.
- Increased clinician confidence in having access to complete information to support a well-informed decision.
Key program details
Delivery agency: eHealth NSW
DAF assurance tier: 2
Estimated cost to completion: $77 million
Project start date: 1 September 2016
Project end date: 31 January 2024
For more information, visit Digital Assurance or contact the team at: ICTAssurance@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.