DigiPatICS: Digital Pathology Transformation of the Catalan Health Institute Network of 8 Hospitals—Planification, Implementation, and Preliminary Results
Jordi Temprana-Salvador,
Pablo López-García,
Josep Castellví Vives,
Lluís de Haro,
Eudald Ballesta,
Matias Rojas Abusleme,
Miquel Arrufat,
Ferran Marques,
Josep R. Casas,
Carlos Gallego,
Laura Pons,
José Luis Mate,
Pedro Luis Fernández,
Eugeni López-Bonet,
Ramon Bosch,
Salomé Martínez,
Santiago Ramón y Cajal,
Xavier Matias-Guiu
Affiliations
Jordi Temprana-Salvador
Department of Pathology, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, CIBERONC, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
Pablo López-García
Functional Competence Center, Information Systems, Catalan Health Institute (Institut Català de la Salut), 08006 Barcelona, Spain
Josep Castellví Vives
Department of Pathology, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, CIBERONC, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
Lluís de Haro
Functional Competence Center, Information Systems, Catalan Health Institute (Institut Català de la Salut), 08006 Barcelona, Spain
Eudald Ballesta
Functional Competence Center, Information Systems, Catalan Health Institute (Institut Català de la Salut), 08006 Barcelona, Spain
Matias Rojas Abusleme
Center for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Centre de Telecomunicacions i Tecnologies de la Informació, CTTI), Catalan Health Institute (Institut Català de la Salut), 08006 Barcelona, Spain
Miquel Arrufat
Economic and Financial Management, Catalan Health Institute (Institut Català de la Salut), 08006 Barcelona, Spain
Ferran Marques
Image Processing Group, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Josep R. Casas
Image Processing Group, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Carlos Gallego
Digital Medical Imaging System of Catalonia (SIMDCAT), TIC Salut, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
Laura Pons
Department of Pathology, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, 08916 Badalona, Spain
José Luis Mate
Department of Pathology, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, 08916 Badalona, Spain
Pedro Luis Fernández
Department of Pathology, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, 08916 Badalona, Spain
Eugeni López-Bonet
Department of Pathology, Doctor Josep Trueta Hospital of Girona, 17007 Girona, Spain
Ramon Bosch
Department of Pathology, Verge de la Cinta Hospital of Tortosa, 43500 Tarragona, Spain
Salomé Martínez
Department of Pathology, Joan XXIII University Hospital of Tarragona, 43005 Tarragona, Spain
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Department of Pathology, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, CIBERONC, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
Xavier Matias-Guiu
Department of Pathology, Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Complete digital pathology transformation for primary histopathological diagnosis is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. Its advantages are clear with more efficient workflows, but there are many technical and functional difficulties to be faced. The Catalan Health Institute (ICS) has started its DigiPatICS project, aiming to deploy digital pathology in an integrative, holistic, and comprehensive way within a network of 8 hospitals, over 168 pathologists, and over 1 million slides each year. We describe the bidding process and the careful planning that was required, followed by swift implementation in stages. The purpose of the DigiPatICS project is to increase patient safety and quality of care, improving diagnosis and the efficiency of processes in the pathological anatomy departments of the ICS through process improvement, digital pathology, and artificial intelligence tools.
