Agfa HealthCare is using collaboration to connect people, places and information to increase communication across the continuum of health care. This is a company that looks at the challenges that are faced in health care and provides solutions. As a leading architect of diagnostic imaging and health care IT solutions, Agfa HealthCare strives to generate innovative and entrepreneurial ways to reach new heights of success.

Whether it is advanced solutions for cardiology, radiology, orthopedics, or mammography to mention a few, they have developed a full spectrum enterprise of IT solutions for care facilities of different sizes. So much of which is developed right here in our community. “Waterloo Region represents an entrepreneurial spirit and Agfa brings that forward with everything that we do. Firms work together with public-private partnerships,” says Jeff Nesbitt, Vice President, Government Relations & Strategic Programs, Agfa HealthCare. “If I had to summarize it, I would say the reason Agfa HealthCare is here in Waterloo Region is we have talent, we bring a collaborative and innovative mindset to the table, and we solve problems in an entrepreneurial way and that opens up business opportunities.”

For Agfa, it is truly about the people and making sure that they are connected to what is needed. “Agfa HealthCare is one of the leading providers of digital imaging systems for hospitals and hospital regions. We also do a significant amount of work for clinical systems in hospitals. Really what that is all about is connecting people, places and information to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of patient care,” emphasized Mr. Nesbitt.

Agfa is no stranger to making huge strides in their industry. They are the European leader in Picture Archiving & Communications Systems (PACS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS), as well as the European healthcare enterprise IT leader with systems installed in 1200 European hospitals and 1000 laboratories.

When it comes to the Health Informatics sector, Agfa has over 15 years experience in the development of Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS). They were also one of the initial companies to commercialize PACS in the healthcare industry. Agfa HealthCare is the leader in global imaging informatics with an incredible 2300+ installations all across the globe. Nesbitt notes that, “Health Informatics is critical from a Canadian perspective because everyone is getting older and we have some serious challenges from a spending perspective for health care budgets.”

The Waterloo office is known for the development of the flagship product in the digital imaging space – IMPAX. This product manages images in hospitals and hospital regions as contributing to the replacement of film, and it currently is exported to 147 countries.

Technology is enabling Agfa to help improve efficiencies and effectiveness of how practitioners do their jobs. The key is working together with everyone, including health care practitioners, to ensure that there is consistency in the information that is accessed across the continuum of care.

Why Waterloo Region?
“If I had to summarize it, I would say the reason Agfa HealthCare is here in Waterloo Region is we have talent, we bring a collaborative and innovative mindset to the table, and we solve problems in an entrepreneurial way and that opens up business opportunities.”
Jeff Nesbitt - Vice President, Government Relations + Strategic Programs


Sources:
• Interview Jeff Nesbitt | 2010
• www.agfa.com