HealthManagement, Volume 21 - Issue 2, 2021

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An overview of Agfa Healthcare’s Enterprise Imaging platform and the XERO® viewer and how it can be embedded in EHR/EMR/Portal and enable the creation of patient-centric longitudinal imaging records from across departments, systems and locations. This allows healthcare providers the ability to share content and discuss treatment strategies for optimum patient care.

Key Points

  • Enterprise imaging is a set of strategies, initiatives and workflows that can be implemented across a healthcare enterprise to capture, index, manage, store, distribute, view, exchange and analyse clinical imaging multimedia content.
  • XERO® viewer creates a longitudinal imaging record that is viewable from a single screen and that you can access right in your electronic health record (EHR).
  • XERO® viewer offers flexible integration capability. It can be embedded in almost anything, and the integration is so seamless that the user will not even realise where the viewer starts and ends.
  • Virtual collaboration and consultation is the future of healthcare, and that is where Enterprise Imaging and XERO® viewer can play an important role in enhancing the collaboration capability within the healthcare system.


Enterprise imaging can be defined as a set of strategies, initiatives and workflows that can be implemented across a healthcare enterprise to capture, index, manage, store, distribute, view, exchange and analyse clinical imaging multimedia content optimally and consistently and enhance the electronic health record.


Enterprise imaging is a complete technology stack that, in addition to the XERO® viewer, provides services such as VNA and diagnostic PACS for both radiology and cardiology. While this convergence of services helps reduce the IT footprint and complexity, the real benefit of enterprise imaging is the impact it has on the end-user. It is important to understand that in healthcare, images are everywhere. Images cross departments, specialties and locations. If we really want to benefit and optimise the use of images in a patient’s care continuum, we need to ensure that healthcare providers have a longitudinal view of a patient’s entire imaging record and can access it easily, from a single place. This is where an enterprise viewer comes in. Agfa Healthcare’s XERO® viewer creates a longitudinal imaging record that is viewable from a single screen and that you can access right in your electronic health record (EHR).


A truly efficient enterprise viewer is one that is technically advanced and offers the most flexibility. It should be powerful and should have seamless integration capability. In addition, an enterprise viewer must be intuitive, easy to use and easy to navigate. This is crucial because the platform is designed to be used by a number of different people. It should not be complex and should not require an extensive rollout of training services to teach users how to use it. It needs to be user-friendly, and at the same time, it needs to be powerful and should offer advanced functionalities to those that need it. XERO® viewer’s advanced functionality is designed to be used by groups such as orthopaedic surgeons and vascular surgeons who require more complex toolsets. These specialists need advanced functionalities such as measurement capabilities, MIP, MPR, 3D and so on. A truly useful and effective enterprise viewer should have the power, and the toolsets that these healthcare providers need.


Today, healthcare systems rely on EHRs. Hence, for an enterprise viewer to be fully utilised, it must be integrated with an EHR, and this integration should be seamless. Users should not be required to launch another window or application. They should not be expected to search for patient information in another system. The goal of enterprise viewer is to make this process more efficient, therefore it must be integrated properly and should allow users to see automated results inside the EHR. Agfa HealthCare’s XERO® viewer offers this flexible integration capability. It can be embedded in almost anything, and the integration is so seamless that the user will not even realise where the viewer starts and ends. The user will only see that the EHR has a viewer, thus maximising their experience and use.


The ultimate goal of Enterprise Imaging and XERO® viewer is to support dynamic collaboration, including instant messaging capabilities and screen sharing. The system is designed to offer healthcare providers the ability to instant message and consult on an exam in real-time. If a healthcare provider needs a second opinion, they can simply share a link to bring another physician to the same exam and share the same screen. Virtual collaboration and consultation are the future of healthcare. Enterprise Imaging and XERO® viewer can play an important role in enhancing the collaboration capability within the healthcare system. 


At Agfa HealthCare, we support healthcare professionals across the globe to transform the delivery of care. Our focus is 100% on providing best-of-suite Imaging IT software solutions that enable secure, effective and sustainable imaging data management. From product development to implementation, our unified Enterprise Imaging Platform is purpose-built to reduce complexity, improve productivity and deliver clinical value. We use our proven track record as an innovator, our in-depth medical knowledge and our strategic guidance to help healthcare providers achieve their clinical, operational and business strategies.



Disclosure of conflict of interest: Point-of-View articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and they are part of the HealthManagement.org Corporate Engagement or Educational Community Programme.