Health Imaging & IT - September 2008 - (Page 16)

special section oncology imaging Radiation Oncology: Tackles IT Integration be at the treatment console 40 times a day to view images for each patient we treat. ARIA, the wireless network, Tablet PCs and cell phones make it possible to increase volume and provide highquality patient care,” concludes Fangman. inside the best-of-breed pioneer Radiation Oncology Services (ROS) of Riverdale, Ga., is committed to community-based, state-of-the-art assessment and treatment. The practice treats 2,000 patients annually at four pioneering advice freestanding radiation oncology centers. Chief Operating › Physician buy-in is the essential first step, says Tillman. Officer Andy Tillman explains, “We embrace a best-inPhysicians need to understand the rationale for and class approach to infrastructure and use treatment benefits of tech changes; otherwise, expect an delivery systems from all major vendors: Elekuphill struggle. ta, IMPAC Medical Systems, Siemens Med› The organization must match its commitical Solutions and Varian Medical Sysment to technical infrastructure with a tems. This approach presents unique commitment to human resources to tying the pieces together challenges in moving data from keep systems working optiExtensive IT infrastructure at MIMA one system to another.” In mally and guide the plan Cancer Center in Melborne, Fla. enables addition, ROS contends for IT-enabled medicine, efficient workflow. with standard industry says Fangman. Key components include: (clockwise) challenges. Particularly › Network with colleagues Varian Medical Systems ARIA Oncology Information System, AT&T 8525 cell vexing is the exponential and adopt an open-door phones outfitted with Windows Mobile increase in patient data, says policy about sharing ideas, and providing 320 x 240 resolution, Motion Computing 1700 Tablet PCs and IT Director Greg Wilson, forcsays Wilson. For example, Cisco Aironet wireless access points. ing the practice to adapt its network ROS visited a St. Louis practice to and storage solutions. With radiation learn more about billing software. oncology changing so rapidly, collaboraBecause the hosts shared prolifically, the tion between clinical users and vendors is ROS team walked away with a much larger essential. (and more beneficial) project: the single dataCone-beam CT is a case in point. Over the last two base model. years, ROS deployed a pair of Elekta XVI linear accelera› Train, train and train again. With IMPAC, ROS employed tors with cone-beam CT. Each CT-based treatment course a varied approach, beginning with vendor training about represents 250 megabytes of data. Currently, the practice stores the basic of IT-based charts, progressing to internal training raw data on the Elekta system during treatment and backs up imagabout specific processes and including a hefty dose of superes on an external hard drive. Wilson aims to streamline the process users for ongoing monitoring and re-education. later this year when Elekta adds a RAID drive to the XVI linac. Other changes deliver critical workflow and patient care benpaperless payoff efits. For example, three years ago, a multidisciplinary team Filmless, paperless radiation oncology workflow is rapidly becomcomprised of IT staff, clinicians and administrators realized that ing the primary radiation oncology workflow model. All constitua single database approach could facilitate paperless, filmless ents benefit from the approach. The paperless model extends the workflow. The practice decided to transition from four distinct reach of radiation oncologists, freeing sites to treat more patients IMPAC EMRs to a single IMPAC database running over a wide and tap into state-of-the-art imaging and treatment protocols that area network. “If radiation oncology practices aren’t paperless, offer patients optimal care. And as volume increases the bottom staff spends an incredible amount of time looking for patient line improves. 21st century radiation oncology is new and information because the chart could be at the front desk, in the improved. It hinges on IT integration, however, as images and data treatment area or at the nurses’ station,” says Tillman. must flow smoothly throughout the practice. 16 Health Imaging & IT | September 2008 HealthImaging.com The single database approach improves both patient care and workflow. The clinical team is no longer tied to the treatment console for access to imaging data and medical records. Instead, images and information are available throughout the practice. Physicians don’t need to interrupt workflow to review images at the console, and collaboration is enhanced because physicians can review cases with colleagues at sites throughout the practice. http://HealthImaging.com

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Health Imaging & IT - September 2008 Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise News Update Imaging Weighs the Evidence Radiation Oncology Tackles IT Integration PET/CT: Diagnosing Cardiac Disease—Adding Function to Form Modality Update People & Technology In Practice Reader's Resource Technology Outlook

Health Imaging & IT - September 2008

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