Construction of a heart team using network attached storage

: There has been recent emphasis on the importance of an interdisciplinary heart team to allow active communication between physicians and surgeons regarding the management of cardiovascular diseases. Construction of a heart team requires a system that enables doctors to rapidly review patients' data when exchanging opinions. We tried to build up a heart team by sharing patients' data via network attached storage( NAS). We installed a server at the Information Technology Center of the University of Toyama with a high-security firewall and online storage software( Proself) for receipt and transfer of data. Accounts and passwords allowing connection to the file server were allocated to cardiovascular physicians at 18 core hospitals without cardiovascular surgery departments, and they were grouped in Proself for security. All communications are encrypted and file transfer is automatically notified to an internet protocol (IP) address via e-mail when data are uploaded or downloaded. Thus, the hospital sending the data and the type of data can be identified immediately, making it possible to refer to the corresponding image files. Sharing of data via NAS allows cardiovascular physicians and surgeons to communicate safely and effectively, leading to successful building of a heart team.