The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Assam together with the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Assam launched first of its kind Tele Radiology Project in public health sector of India in a public private partnership model with HealthFore Technologies Limited. With the aim to make radiology services accessible and affordable to the entire rural populace of Assam; Department of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Assam has been commissioning Regional Diagnostic Centers (RDC) and equipping them with CT and X-Ray modalities. However, over the years, it was observed that the full potential of these centers were not been realized owing to the glaring lack of Radiologists in the state, especially for most of the rural areas where the Radiologists are sparsely available. In 2012, NRHM, Assam decided to introduce next-gen Tele Radiology solution to the established infrastructure. The goal of this program was intended to address the following needs: • Ensuring that the existing radiology equipments at the RDC were used more effectively. • Facilitating the reporting of the radiology scans by experts at Guwahati and Delhi without having to wait for an onsite radiologist. All reports are archived at the Data Center. • Maintain the affordability of these services for the rural people of Assam. • Initiate the practice of helping patients maintain their medical records to improve continuity of care within the populace of Assam. Under this program, the existing CT and X-Ray machines are being enabled for transmitting digital images of the scans (DICOM compatibility) at the RDC, which are then connected by fibre optic/UBR/ADSL/3G to the Central Data Center (CDC) in Guwahati. Once a patient gets his or her CT or X-Ray scan done at one of these RDC, the digital image of the scan is transmitted via the network to the servers in the Guwahati CDC into the centrally deployed RIS-PACS (Radiology Information System – Picture Archiving and Communication System) and makes these available to radiologists and specialist radiographers based out of Guwahati, New Delhi and other cities. These radiologists use the RIS-PACS system to access the patient scans from Guwahati and New Delhi to provide online report which can be printed at the local RDC and handed over to the patients. Further, the system allows each patient to access their scans online and maintains their patient history which can be accessed via www.nrhmrdc.in. In the first phase, this program is beginning its roll out in 11 districts in Assam, namely, Guwahati, Mangaldai, Lakhimpur, Hailakandi, Nagaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Haflong, Jorhat, Barpeta and Silchar. HealthFore Technologies Limited proudly participates in this program as the provider of the Magnum Infinity Imaging (RIS-PACS) solution that powers the program. HealthFore further has provided infrastructure, consultancy and will manage day to day operations of the centers for NRHM over the period of five years.

1. Government of India
ASSAM TELE RADIOLOGY PROJECT
Patients
Remote Diagnostic Center
Specialists
Reporting Center

2. PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Addresses the
demand for
Specialized skills
in interpretative
radio-diagnosis
across wide
geographic
landscape
Facilitates critical
care delivery by
assuring quicker
turn around time
for emergency
cases any day any
time
1st of its Kind in
the NATION in the
public health
sector driven by
partnership model
Leverages
advancements in
medical
technology and
Information
technology to
deliver Cost
Effectiveness

3. PROJECT SCOPE
• Coverage of Tele Radiology services for 11 District Regional
Diagnostic Centers
• Establish Data Center in Guwahati and also supply RIS and PACS
Software to manage Tele Radiology services
• Operate Regional Diagnostic Centers to service patients with
necessary staffing of receptionists and radiographers
• Provide remote reporting services using specialized radiologists across
Guwahati and Delhi

5. Patient Journey Snapshot
Patient Registration
Patient Billing
Triage Emergency
or Normal
Imaging Exam
By Radiographer
Patient Downloads
Report
Patient Collects
Report
Remote Reporting
by Radiologist

6. Step 1 - Registration
Patient arrives @ Reception
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Patient contact with Receptionist
Registration
Screening (BPL patient benefits)
Documentation Scan & Upload
Billing & Cash Collection

7. Step 2 – Imaging Exam
Patient arrives @ Exam Room
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Patient contact with Technician
Triage for Emergency Cases
Completion of Exam / Procedure
Image Acquisition
Film Inventory

8. Step 3 – Resulting
Image arrives @ Reporting Center
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Radiologists interpret images
Diagnosis / Impression documented
Completion of Report

9. Step 4.1 – Collect Report
Physical Report @ Radiology Center
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Patient contact with Receptionist
Film & Report collection
Urgent Dispatch of emergency case
report – Within 1 Hour
Routine Dispatch of normal case
report – Between 9am -6pm (within
8 working hours)

10. Step 4.2 – Online Report
Electronic Report @ Patient Portal
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Patient contact with Portal
Online access to Reports
Download results remotely saving
another visit to collect report
Portal access provided as part of
Billing Invoice

11. PROJECT BENEFITS
Service Utilization Dashboard for
better decision making
“This project is yet another testament to
TECHNOLOGY enabling QUALITY HealthCare
more Accessible and Affordable”
COST of Radiology Services