Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic imaging solutions, announces today that the Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository Services (HDIRS) project has received the Showcase Ontario 2008 Merit Award. The HDIRS project is being recognized for its partnership success between 23 hospital corporations that, when completed, will have real-time access to relevant patient information and will electronically share diagnostic images and reports across 35 Ontario hospital sites – regardless of the patient’s initial point of care.

The HDIRS project – formerly known as the Toronto East Network – is part of the Canada Health Infoway initiative to accelerate the implementation of reliable and secure health information systems, leading to the eventual goal of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) for every Canadian. As an integral part of this project, Agfa HealthCare has implemented PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) digital imaging technology and a diagnostic imaging repository to centrally and securely store patient images and reports while facilitating file sharing across the HDIRS network. In addition, the project provides disaster recovery, business continuity services, workflow cost savings and network management to improve hospital services and the delivery of patient care.

“We are honoured that HDIRS has been recognized for its unique and innovative partnership,” said Pat Ryan, General Manager, HDIRS. “When the project is complete, participating HDIRS healthcare organizations will experience the benefits of Agfa HealthCare’s PACS and data storage solutions, as will the patients. Additionally, not only will the HDIRS project help with operational and cost efficiencies, but with patient file sharing capabilities, these hospitals are one step closer to reaching their eHealth goals.”

HDIRS member organizations will realize significant cost savings and operational efficiencies through on-site storage facilities and the elimination of film-based imaging, and will also be able to reduce patient wait times and the need for patient imaging re-takes.

“Agfa HealthCare is proud to be a part of the HDIRS project and this prestigious nomination from Showcase Ontario,” said Michael Green, President of Agfa HealthCare in Canada. “When the project is complete, patients will be able to visit any hospital in the HDIRS network and be reassured their comprehensive patient record is at the physician’s finger tips. We look forward to helping other hospitals get involved and to extending the power of this network beyond Ontario.”

The 2008 Merit Award was presented to HDRIS at the Showcase Ontario conference on Tuesday, September 9th. The Showcase Ontario conference is the largest Canadian public sector information technology (IT) education event that focuses on improving the delivery of patient care through the use of healthcare IT. Submissions for Showcase Ontario Merit Awards are reviewed annually by a distinguished panel of experts representing the private sector, the province’s public sector, and the IT industry. Recipients are awarded based on the project’s demonstration of excellence in business practices, teamwork, and the use of technology to deliver services to residents.

About Agfa

The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world’s leading imaging and information technology companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems for the printing industry (Agfa Graphics), the healthcare sector (Agfa HealthCare) and specific industrial applications (Agfa Materials). Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is present in 40 countries and has agents in another 100 countries throughout the world. The Agfa-Gevaert Group achieved a turnover of 3,283 million Euro in 2007.

About Agfa HealthCare

Agfa HealthCare, a member of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, is a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic image management solutions, and state-of-the-art systems for capturing and processing images in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Agfa HealthCare has over a century of healthcare experience related to diagnostic imaging and has been a pioneer on the healthcare IT market since the early 1990’s. The HealthCare division has sales offices and agents in over 100 markets worldwide. Sales for Agfa HealthCare in 2007 were 1,392 million Euro, accounting for 43% of total group sales.

For more information on Agfa HealthCare, please visit www.agfa.com/healthcare.