Major US Healthcare Group Selects Sectra RIS

Regulatory News:

Shields Health Care Group, New England’s premiere independent provider of radiology imaging services, has chosen the Swedish IT and medical-technology company Sectra (STO:SECTB) as their Radiology Information System (RIS) provider. Sectra will deliver its RIS products, integration services and direct support to Shields Health Care over a multi-year period.

Working with Sectra, Shields developed a return on investment strategy and expects to lower operating costs in excess of USD 2.2 million over the next five years. Each department (Patient Access, Front Office, Billing and Information Technology) has clearly defined goals as well as a target cost per scan reduction to achieve.

"As part of a continuing effort to be the best imaging provider in the New England market, Shields senior management developed an optimization strategy for the operation of all of our imaging centers,” indicated Patricia Whelan, Vice President of Information Technologies at Shields Health Care. "At the core of this strategy is a new Sectra RIS that will help us to reengineer our workflow through work simplification and elimination and advance our product through the development of a multi-media report. Sectra RIS will enable us to communicate securely with the patients and referring physician in new ways that were not possible just a few years ago.”

Sectra RIS will enable a comprehensive array of patient information to be efficiently delivered and managed across the wide enterprise of healthcare organizations within the Shields network. Shields Health Care’s partnership with Sectra is a reflection of their commitment to regular investments in breakthrough technology, allowing them to maintain a pioneering role in the radiology industry.

"Shields Health Care exemplifies the market leading, technology savvy, patient-focused radiology organization that drives innovation in our industry,” indicated Dr. John Goble, President of Sectra North America. "Sectra will work closely with Shields Health Care to enable their customer-focused model of healthcare, while increasing their operational efficiencies, a necessity in this tough economic climate.”

About Shields Health Care
A family owned organization, Shields Health Care Group has been committed to unsurpassed patient care and clinical excellence since 1972. Although outstanding technology and a highly regarded medical staff would serve as the company's foundation, it was Shields Health Care's revolutionary brand of service that made hospitals all over New England take notice. Shields Health Care employs a service-intensive approach by centralizing their scheduling, quality assurance, and billing operations from a single location. Today, Shields Health Care operates a network of MRI centers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and they are a proud partner of: UMass Memorial Healthcare, Baystate Health System, St. Luke's Hospital - New Bedford, South Shore Hospital, Carney Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Rhode Island Medical Imaging, and Lahey Clinic.

About Sectra’s medical operations
Sectra develops and sells IT-systems and products for radiology, mammography and orthopedic departments. More than 1,000 hospitals worldwide use the system daily, together performing over 50million radiology examinations annually. This makes Sectra one of the world leading companies within systems for handling digital radiology images (PACS). In Scandinavia, Sectra is the market leader with more than 50% of all film-free installations. Outside Scandinavia, Sectra’s system is installed at customers in North America and most major countries in Europe and the Far East.

About the Sectra Group
Sectra successfully develops and sells cutting-edge products in the expansive niche segments of medical systems and secure communication systems. The company was founded in 1978 and has its roots in the Linköping Institute of Technology in Sweden. Today, Sectra has offices in twelve countries and operates through partners worldwide. Sales in the 2008/2009 fiscal year totaled SEK 863 million. The Sectra share is quoted on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm AB exchange. For more information, visit www.sectra.com.

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