TOMCAT Systems Limited, manufacturer of a leading cardiovascular information system, was acquired by Philips Healthcare in March 2008. Now known as the Philips CVIS, it is installed in more than 80 hospitals, mainly in the United Kingdom.
“But we were the first in North America,” says Stephen Fort, MD, director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax. “And we had a real need for it.”
“Over the years we have grown in a piecemeal fashion and ended up with four cardio labs and one electrophysiology lab, as well as nine different computer systems that were generally all unconnected. We had 15 different methods of patient data entry with no integration. So keeping our records straight was very labor intensive and redundant.”
Then the Philips CVIS came on the scene. “It brings everything together,” says Dr. Fort. “We have results from diverse systems like haemodynamics (pressure measurements), X-rays, inventory, quality assurance, and even some billing that can all be streamlined together. So it quickens our workflow and consistently gives us accurate patient data.”