Cardiology Information Systems Offer Great Potential Throughout Europe

After the emergence of picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) as the vital infrastructure of any up-to-date radiology department, the focus has now turned to the possibilities of other specialists improving their communication with the radiology department. Vendors have been increasingly enthusiastic to provide better means of image processing and communication to potential customers in orthopedics, neurology, oncology, histology, and cardiology.

Of all these disciplines, cardiology is the largest producer of images and associated clinical and administrative information. Therefore, departmental cardiology information systems (CIS) have emerged, and combined with a cardiology PACS, have become the leading software feature in modern cardiology departments. A new analysis report from Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA), an international growth consultancy company, found that the market was worth US$26.9 million in 2006 and is estimated to reach $83.6 million in 2013.

Various changes in the treatment of heart diseases have contributed to a noticeable reduction in the number of associated deaths. Cardiologists today have a much better understanding of the dynamics of the cardiovascular system, partly due to advances in digital imaging. "The growing emphasis on routine screening for individuals 45 years of age and older is merely indicative of the shift in recent years in the medical community away from acute interventional care and towards preventative care,” noted Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Konstantinos Nikolopoulos. "As a result, cardiac screening is now starting at a much earlier age, as physicians seek to uncover potential cardiovascular issues before the onset of chronic cardiopulmonary disease. This new philosophy is likely to contribute to the heightened demand for CIS.”

Over the last few years, healthcare providers have invested significantly towards enterprise-wide applications such as hospital information systems, PACS, and end-to-end administrative applications. Several departments in the enterprise such as cardiology, orthopedics, emergency, and surgery have become significant producers and users of both image and textual data.

However, no enterprise system can provide enough coverage for the unique needs of every clinical department and--particularly in cardiology--a departmental information technology (IT) system is usually preferred. This creates a need for tight integration between the different systems across the hospital and is a major challenge for all market participants.

Although different clients have different demands from a CIS product, integration with other hospital IT systems seems to be emerging as one of the primary user requirements.


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