Health Imaging & IT - October 2008 - (Page 23)

[ south shore Hospital cardiovascular center has realized a $45,000 net increase in monthly charges thanks to more accurate billing facilitated by deploying gE centricity cardiology cvis, according to director of cardiovascular Medicine bill burke. this digital cath lab is one of two onsite at south shore. ] the hospital within a hospital approach Over the last 20 years, South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., has grown from a relatively small community hospital into a regional medical center and provider of acute-care services. While it’s only 15 miles south of the medical-mecca of Boston, South Shore has been able to entice patients to stay local because the hospital is high-tech as well as high-touch—and very easy to access for patients of all ages. As hospital leaders surveyed the demographics of its large catchment area, they realized the hospital needed to overhaul its cardiovascular department. The hospital built a new center based on the “hospitalwithin-a-hospital” approach. All cardiovascular services, from EKG to cardiac ultrasound, cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation, and all providers are located in the one-stop center—which is just steps from the front door of the hospital for easy access. The cardiovascular center further streamlines the patient experience by directing each patient to a multi-purpose room. Instead of subjecting the patient to multiple visits or inter-departmental appointments, all providers see the patient in one room. The new center offered the opportunity to rebuild operations. “We wanted a single-vendor [cardiovascular information system] solution rather than [multi-vendor] departmental systems,” says Bill Burke, director of cardiovascular medicine. That’s because disparate departmental systems don’t communicate as effectively with each other, requiring duplicative data entry that can lead to quality and patient safety problems. “Many medical errors stem from how healthcare shares data,” notes Burke. Using GE Healthcare Centricity Cardiology as its one true source of data, South Shore Hospital overcomes the challenge. The approach is quite simple. After the patient registers, all cardiovascular equipment absorbs the patient data. The CVIS allowed the center to implement other key improvements. For example, Centricity Cardiology serves as a single database that tracks data across multiple systems, eliminating the need for multiple databases using different methods. “With one click, we can grab and slice and dice data like volume by procedure, physician or time of day. This allows us to make amazing practice management decisions. We know where to put resources [such as staff and equipment] to use them optimally,” says Burke. In addition, clinicians and referring physicians can access all clinical data and images from a single user interface. Healthimaging.com Plus, clinicians can share images instantly via email, keeping referring physicians and caregivers informed. With CVIS, South Shore Hospital automated other critical functions including scheduling and patient tracking, billing and supply management. “The lack of efficient processes for these functions can cripple any department,” warns Burke. Centricity serves as a dynamic digital dry-erase board. Every patient, procedure, physician and room can be seen on an Outlook-type calendar. The system constantly refreshes itself as the schedule changes to prevent unnecessary, inefficient over-communication, says Burke. CVIS also simplifies coding and billing. In a traditional department, technologists and nurses share partial responsibility for coding, checking off CPT codes on a paper-based system before sending the data to the billing department. Centricity merges documentation and coding workflows, extracting coding data from nursing documentation. For example, if nursing notes indicate right and left cardiac coronary angiograms, the system adds relevant CPT codes, and a coding assistant completes the billing process. The results are impressive. Since deploying Centricity in 2007 and implementing processes to analyze inappropriate billing, South Shore Hospital Cardiovascular Center has realized a $45,000 net increase in monthly charges because bills are more accurate than under the previous system. One of the final pieces of the puzzle is inventory management. The system digitally tracks supplies, alerting staff when inventory reaches pre-determined parameters. The center saves money because it doesn’t run short under the automated system, and it avoids unnecessary equipment surpluses. For example, reports track unused products, allowing the center to return them to the vendor prior to the expiration date. “We use less space, yet have more supplies at the same time,” reports Burke, “because inventory is tightly controlled to meet our needs.” deploying it to build a seamless enterprise Seven years ago, MedCentral-Mansfield Hospital, a 250-bed community hospital in Mansfield, Ohio, was a typical 20th century enterprise, characterized by departmental, paper-based silos of information that talked poorly to each other. “It was frustrating for physicians. We weren’t as efficient in delivering clinical care as continued on page 26 october 2008 | Health Imaging & IT 23 http://www.HealthImaging.com

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

Health Imaging & IT - October 2008 Contents The Enterprise News Update Top Trends in Health Imaging & IT - Topping the Competition Advances in Cardiac CT & MRI CVIS Spurs Innovation Technology Outlook People & Technology In Practice Reader's Resource

Health Imaging & IT - October 2008

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