Health Imaging & IT - March 2008 - (Page 42)

DR: You Gotta Have IT Delivering Speed, Efficiency, Savings [ Robert Whitmarsh, RT (R), CNMT, director of radiology, and John Andersen, LRT, of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., participated in a North American trade trial of the Carestream 9500 DR system, which was installed in March 2007. ] ter with DR, says Whitmarsh. “Everything we already thought was good got better. The 9500 allows us to make what was previously so challenging actually quite easy.” Transitioning to DR was smooth for the St. Joseph staff because it has the same look and feel of the company’s CR systems. “That was attractive to us because we have six [Carestream Kodak] CR products,” he says. “The image processing algorithms were brought over from CR.” practice where many patients frequently return and a good staffpatient rapport goes a long way toward patient retention. The technologists are much happier with DR, she reports. And, when one moved out of the area, the practice decided not to hire a replacement. Kids and containing costs DR brought a definite increase in throughput to The Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colo., says Radiology Director Linda Wright. The hospital uses Swissray’s Combi Trauma Systems, Multi Systems, Formula Plus Systems and another two Formula Plus Systems are on order. DR was phased in in 2001 and was first deployed in the orthopedics area, a busy, demanding department. “They expect us to be really fast,” she says. With one technologist and one assistant, they could perform the same number of exams in less time with DR. Making the best use of tight space is another benefit of DR, according to Whitmarsh. “We’re gaining tremendous efficiencies you don’t get with CR,” he says. The ceiling suspended U-arm is designed not to be limited by anything. Rather than moving and adjusting the patient, the tech simply moves the arm with the remote control. During initial set-up, all stationary objects in the room are calculated into the system so that the arm won’t ever hit cabinets or countertops. Remote positioning also helps lower the risk of repetitive motion injury to staff, Whitmarsh says. At first glance, DR is more expensive than CR. But, “DR is where you really gain efficiency, productivity, speed, everything,” says Whitmarsh. “When you gain that much efficiency, you don’t need the same number HealthImaging.com happier physicians and techs The 11 radiologists at Schenectady Radiologists and Balltown Imaging Center in New York, also were very happy with the images when they started using the 1600 DR system from Imaging Dynamics, says James Mooney, practice administrator. “The beauty for the radiologist is that he or she has the ability to manipulate the images,” he says. “With film screen, you get what you get. With digital, you can magnify, you can change the algorithm, you can change the window and level to look at different areas. It makes them better at their jobs.” The radiologists pushed for DR, says Mooney. One of the biggest pluses, he says, is that radiologists and subspecialists can read images from any location via PACS. DR also allowed McHenry to reduce its number of technologists. DeCramer realized that in an analog world, technologists spend about 51 percent of their time on administrative tasks. Now, they spend maybe 1 percent on administrative tasks, she says, and can spend more time with patients. That’s important in an orthopedic 42 Health Imaging & IT | March 2008 http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - March 2008

Health Imaging & IT - March 2008 Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise: Communicating Better News Update Critical Test Results Management: The Human Touch The Changing Face of the Cath Lab Cardiovascular CT: A Clinical Boon Cardiology PACS: Solutions to Fit Your Needs ACC 08: Building Quality & Value Together Picking the Perfect PACS Displays PET/CT: A Game-Changer in Cancer Patient Management DR: You Gotta Have IT – Delivering Speed, Efficiency, Savings Laser Imagers: Answering the Call for Hard Copy Reader's Resources Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.