UK Hospitals Join in Using Oncology Information Network

Six hospitals in the north of England are implementing a software system that enables them to function as one clinical network.

The rollout of Aria for Medical Oncology, developed by Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, CA, USA), at hospitals in Lancashire and Cumbria is expected to improve patient care and departmental efficiency by fully integrating the prescribing, preparation, dispensing, and administration of drugs for treating cancer.

The network will include oncology centers at the Royal Preston Hospital, Royal Blackburn Hospital, Burnley General Hospital, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Royal Lancs Infirmary, and Furness General Hospital will effectively have a single integrated computer network for chemotherapy prescribing and patient records.

Dr. Gerry Skailes, the project's clinical director of oncology, remarked, "This will allow a seamless transition around the network and will enable patients to travel from one of our hospitals to another, as they tend to do if they are having both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Aria was selected because it ideally fitted our specifications and it is a well-established and trusted system.
The result will be a more streamlined service that will enable us to provide better care for our patients while increasing our awareness of the treatments we are providing. It will make it a lot more convenient for all concerned.”

Steve Laws, Varian's medical oncology sales manager, stated, "Aria for Medical Oncology provides cancer treatment facilities with software that combines and manages information including scheduling, prescribing, and clinical information for both radiation therapy and chemotherapy within a single comprehensive electronic medical record for each patient.”

Varian's medical oncology solution is already in place in several UK hospitals, including in London (St. Barts), Norwich, Stoke, Truro, and Romford, and is now being implemented across a number of other cancer networks.

Varian Medical Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices.


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