In the city of Bruges in Belgium, the hospitals AZ Sint Lucas and AZ Sint Jan began their journey to the cloud following a contract with Sectra signed in 2023. As the first in the Benelux countries to adopt Sectra's enterprise imaging as a fully managed service in the public cloud, these hospitals have now gone live with the service.

One of the main reasons for this shift was the need to streamline operations and enhance collaboration between the two sites. Since 2021, the 23 radiologists and nine trainees of both hospitals have worked together in one single association. Previously, they were unable to work in one environment as they were using two different PACS providers. This made it much harder to collaborate. This need originates from the challenge many hospitals face today of dealing with heavy workloads. 

"With an aging population come increasing needs. We are already experiencing a lack of resources and heavier workload. With more and more exams to report on and a shortage of staff, our radiologists are having a hard time coping with the everyday workload. A state-of-the art communal PACS system could help streamline workflow and improve efficiency," says Dr. Jesse Marrannes, radiologist at AZ Sint-Jan and main medical responsible for this PACS project.

Bart Thielen, Managing Director, Sectra Benelux, adds:
"Healthcare today needs to be able to cope with the increasing need for diagnostics and specialized care. Transitioning to the cloud is the first step for hospitals wanting to use new technology to cope with these challenges, as the service offers the needed scalability and security. Many hospitals also deal with staff shortages when it comes to qualified IT staff. I am very happy to offer a solution that will take away some of the stress and resources usually needed to manage the system."

He continues: "AZ Sint Jan and AZ Sint Lucas pave the way for the transition to public cloud for medical imaging in the Benelux and I'm excited to follow their journey."

The service is based on Microsoft Azure and fully managed by Sectra. The hospitals saw the potential of the service helping to relieve burden on their IT staff and resources. "The fact that it is a fully managed service and deployed in the cloud gives us more time to focus on the care of our patients rather than on the maintenance of the IT-system and the storage and accessibility of data," said Annelies Meyns, Head of ICT Applications at AZ Sint Jan, when the project was initiated.

The implementation process began shortly after the contract was signed, with Sectra closely collaborating with hospital teams to ensure a seamless transition. "Moving everything to the cloud is a monumental task, but Sectra's commitment made it manageable and efficient," says Jurryt Laleeuwe, Head of ICT Applications at AZ Sint Lucas.

The cloud service is now fully operational, bringing notable enhancements. "The new system has already enhanced our ability to share resources and collaborate on patient cases. The ability to tailor our workflows has also greatly benefited our radiologists, especially for overarching multidisciplinary team meetings" says Dr. Pieter Vandaele, Head of the Department of Radiology at AZ Sint Lucas.

He continues:
"The implementation and experience so far have been very positive, and I look forward to seeing the ongoing benefits of this cloud service."

Sectra's enterprise imaging solution provides a unified strategy for all imaging needs while lowering operational costs. The scalable and modular solution, with a VNA at its core, allows healthcare providers to grow from ology to ology and from enterprise to enterprise. Visit Sectra's website to read more about Sectra and why it's top-ranked in "Best in KLAS (https://medical.sectra.com/about-sectra/sectra-pacs-best-in-klas/)".

About Sectra
Sectra contributes to a healthier and safer society by assisting health systems throughout the world to enhance the efficiency of care, and authorities and defense forces in Europe to protect society's most sensitive information. The company, founded in 1978, is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, with direct sales in 19 countries, and distribution partners worldwide. Sales in the 2023/2024 fiscal year totaled SEK 2,964 million. The Sectra share is quoted on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. For more information, visit Sectra's website (http://sectra.com).