OCINet is Patient Focused
and Technology Driven
Formed in April 2022 with the consolidation of three diagnostic imaging repository programs (i.e., HDIRS, NEODIN, SWODIN), OCINet was created to execute Ontario’s medical imaging digital health strategy.
Building on regional efforts of the past decade, OCINet enables the secure storage and retrieval of image records, supports hospitals and integrated community health services centres (ICHSCs) (also known as independent health facilities, or IHFs), and connects radiologists, referring physicians, and specialists with their patients’ images province-wide.
The seamless, authorized sharing of imaging records supports the movement and treatment of patients, reduces repeat scans and harmful radiation exposure, reduces healthcare costs, and decreases wait times.
Beyond the repositories, OCINet is a shared services partner and service innovation hub for Ontario hospitals. OCINet offers regional picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), the Emergency Neuro Imaging Transfer System (ENITS), peer review technology, speech recognition, and is actively working with ICHSCs/IHFs to include additional imaging in the DIRs.
Continually working to add value, contain costs, and enrich care, OCINet is much more than a health information network provider (HINP).
DIRs Enable Healthcare Organizations to Share Resources
Regional DIRs (SW, CE, NEO)
new imaging exams added to DIRs annually
of DIR data (growing by 1 petabyte/year)
Different PACS Feed Imaging Exams To The DIRs
OCINet is Accountable
to the Health System
OCINet is committed to transparency in its finances and business administration. We disclose financial statements and accounting details to promote integrity, trust, and a deeper understanding of our role in the healthcare system.
OCINet Delivers Value Across Departments, Organizations, and Regions
“Medical imaging resources are scarce and valuable, and access to subspecialty care, including radiology reporting, is commonly clustered in urban academic health care centers affiliated with universities. To provide the same high quality care across the province, the needs of patients and physicians are shifting, requiring more flexibility. Working actively across multiple hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area and in Northern Ontario, I have seen first-hand how sharing imaging resources can improve radiology quality of care in urban areas, while also streamlining both hospital operations and patient needs. The consolidation of the provincial DIRs not only enables hospitals to more easily share resources and records, it provides physicians with the information they need to better manage their patients, and patients the option to seek high quality care closer to home.“
Dr. Heidi Schmidt
Department Head Medical Imaging and Program Medical Director, Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI), Toronto; Chief and Medical Imaging Program Medical Director, Health Sciences North, Sudbury
“For one of a generation who has witnessed the digital technology revolution scaled to medical imaging only within the past 20 years, I can no more imagine practising radiology in 2023 without DIR access to patient imaging from outside of my own institution than I could using a computer or smartphone without access to the Internet. Early OCINet experience confirmed that the complete patient medical imaging record is frequently fractionated among multiple hospitals and independent health facilities (IHF). There is an adage that ‘a radiologist’s two best friends are another radiologist [for consultation] and old films [for comparison].’ As such, radiologists and patients have found a friend in OCINet.”
Dr. Matt Downey
Radiologist, Quinte Health Care
