BY James Kon

Digitalised patient medical records like X-ray, CT scan as well as electrocardiogram (ECG) data can now be accessed in any hospital, healthcare centre and government clinic nationwide following the launch of Bru-HIMs Enhancement Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) by the Ministry of Health (MoH) on Wednesday.

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar unveiled the new feature at the 2nd Floor of the Women and Children’s Centre, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital.

PACS is a project under the 11th National Development Plan (RKN11) aiming to enhance Bru-HIMS. It consists of two components – Radiology PACS for storage and archive of radiology images and Cardiology PACS for storage and archive of cardiology images including ECG.

PACS is integrated with the Bru-HIMS system and is connected to medical imaging equipment in Radiology and Dardiology departments throughout hospitals and health centres while being a safe and secure platform for easy and fast access.

The system also plays an important role in the clinical workflow of radiology and cardiology services supporting the aspirations of MoH in strengthening the healthcare system and services as well as helping to achieve Brunei Vision 2035 goals to improve the quality of life of Brunei’s people and residents.

Deputy Head of the Radiology Department Dr Nor Lenny binti Haji Abdullah said the Bru-HIMS PACS project implementation was started in early 2019 and has been categorised under the Highly Specialised Quadrant within Local Business Development Framework (LBD). The project is also under the RKN11 emphasising a similar concept which is One Patient, One Record.

She said the system enables quick and simultaneous access, and availability of patient images from any Bru-HIMS computer terminal, whenever and wherever needed; and with that will increase service efficiency and reduction of waiting time for patients to obtain treatment. Cost reduction is accounts for less use of x-ray film and paper and the reduction of the need for storage space and manpower to manually retrieve and search for patient image records.

She also revealed that positive changes were seen since the start of the use of Bru-HIMS PACS in providing radiology services such as the printing of x-ray films which has been reduced to as much as 99 per cent, indirectly saving the cost for the Radiology Department.

Hospital clinic staff also do not need to visit the department to take or return a patient’s x-ray film, as done previously.

It is also indirectly a convenience for doctors as the patient’s medical images can be assessed through the Bru-HIMS terminal.

Meanwhile, Head of the Cardiology Department Dr Sofian bin Dato Dr Haji Johar said, “ECG is one of the main investigative tool used to diagnose a heart attack. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the Sultanate and early screening of heart attacks enables early treatment, which is one way to reduce the burden of heart disease. As part of this project, 88 new ECG machines were obtained to replace the existing ones and distributed to most hospitals and health centres under the MoH.

“With the new machines, an ECG can be performed at any health centre in the country and the results can be sent immediately to the new Cardiology PACS system where medical experts and cardiologists can view the ECG results to help diagnose a heart attack and plan the treatment accordingly. If the diagnosis of a heart attack is confirmed, the patient can be sent to a hospital as soon as possible for treatment. This can help reduce morbidity and mortality associated with heart disease.”

A brief video about the system was screened following the launching.

The guest of honour visited the Radiology and Cardiology departments to witness the demonstration of the use and application of the system.

Permanent Secretary at the MoH Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Professional) at the MoH Dr Ang Swee Hui, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary (Policy and Management) Dr Hajah Anie Haryani binti Haji Abdul Rahman, Acting Director General of Medical and Health Services Pengiran Dr Haji Khalifah bin Pengiran Haji Ismail, and senior officers from the MoH and other agencies were also present.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin