Cardiology PACS & CVIS: Implementing Digital Strategies - November/December 2008 - (Page 3)

“Cardiac care has become very complicated and sophisticated, cardiologists need IT to help gather the resources to treat patients.” Stanley Katz, MD, chairman of cardiology, north Shore University Hospital tal or outpatient care many times in their lives. When a patient comes to the hospital, we need access to all prior data and images,” says Stephen Green, MD, chief of cardiology at North Shore, associate director of the catheterization lab, associate chairman of cardiology and director of performance improvement for cardiac services. The speed of cardiac care represents another complicating factor; cardiologists run at a different pace than other physicians. For example, when a patient with unstable angina arrives, the cardiac team needs the patient’s history and images—immediately. Add other factors, like database reporting, intra-enterprise collaboration and referring physician communication to the mix, and information management becomes priority No. 1. CVIT addresses the critical challenges cardiology departments face as they struggle to provide optimal, efficient patient care. It provides efficient access to images and reports throughout the enterprise at workstations in the department, cath labs and physicians’ offices. It incorporates structured reporting, not only streamlining the reporting process but also facilitating database management. At NS-LIJ, the robust system connects cardiologists to images and data, resulting in informed clinical decision-making, improved patient care and streamlined operations. necessary images and data are instantly available and clearly organized on the system— providing the information needed for an efficient, informed clinical decision, says ong. The ability to view prior images and reports is critical in cardiology; multi-site health networks also need to provide cardiologists with tools to support collaborative, multi-site decisionmaking. once again, CVIT optimizes the process. Like other health networks, NS-LIJ includes two hospitals with cath labs that perform angiograms, but don’t offer cardiac surgery. When a patient undergoes an angiogram at one of the hospitals and a potential or actual problem occurs, CVPACS allows North Shore cardiologists to immediately review the study and confer to determine the best treatment. Prior to digital image managment the same process hinged on CDs, resulting in a significantly longer decision-making process. Enhanced efficiency and operations Although CVIT helps improve patient care, it delivers additional benefits. Improved cardiology workflow is a second benefit of digital workflow, says Green. The system delivers widespread operational benefits, impacting physicians, patients and administrators. on the physician side, the benefits of CVIT are multi-faceted. Cardiac PACS enables targeted, efficient care by housing all patient information in a single, easily accessible place, says Katz. Consequently, cardiologists can accommodate additional patients and, at the same time, improve service to patients. Take the example of the er patient with chest pain. because it provides access to prior images and reports the cardiologist knows where stents are located, which grafts, are open and what vessels are anomalous. “Taking 20 seconds to view images and reports, saves the cardiologist time, and it limits contrast and radiation to patients because we don’t order unnecessary studies,” states Green. CVIT’s reporting component illustrates the improved care and enhanced efficiency paradigm. It also embeds flexible structured reporting that grows as cardiologists use the system. During the initial transition from transcription to structured Optimized patient care “Cardiac care has become very complicated and sophisticated,” opines Katz. “Cardiologists need IT to help gather the resources to treat patients.” CVIT fits the bill, providing a comprehensive clinical information repository. In seconds, a cardiologist can view structured reports, static images and cine runs, which drives improved patient care. Consider for example a fairly typical cardiac case. A patient who recently had a coronary stent placed returns to the er in the middle of the night complaining of chest pain. before making any treatment decision, the cardiologist needs to know the type and size of stent used, the patient’s heart function during the procedure and any complications or difficulties. All of the “Taking 20 seconds to view images and reports, saves the cardiologist time, and it limits contrast and radiation to patients because we don’t order unnecessary studies.” Stephen Green, MD, chief of cardiology, north Shore University Hospital CardiovascularBusiness.com Cardiology PACS & CVIS: Implementing Digital Strategies 3 http://www.CardiovascularBusiness.com

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Cardiology PACS & CVIS: Implementing Digital Strategies - November/December 2008 Contents North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System South Shore Hospital The CIO Suite Scottsdale Healthcare

Cardiology PACS & CVIS: Implementing Digital Strategies - November/December 2008

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