Health Imaging & IT - October 2008 - (Page 24)

special section cardiac imaGinG CVIS Spurs Innovation PACS Across the Enterprise  Meeting the Image Integration Challenge MarsHfiEld clinic As PACS has matured, the reality of digital imaging has become clear. Images are not a departmental commodity. To provide truly efficient digital patient care, images must be available across and beyond the enterprise. Sites are tackling the challenge in several ways. Here are two organizations recognizing the benefits of an integrated approach. The universal archive Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis., is a large group practice, operating 50 clinics and employing 750 physicians across northern Wisconsin. After the clinic implemented departmental PACS nearly a decade ago, it tackled the EHR challenge. Today, it is moving toward a single repository for all DICOM and non-DICOM images. CIO Carl Christensen explains, “The core of our strategy is straightforward. Independent image silos are not sustainable. Silos are very difficult to manage from an IT standpoint, and they are very costly.” On the other hand, a universal strategy addresses critical challenges in the multi-site enterprise. A sufficiently open repository provides vendor-independence or PACS-agnosticism. That is, images can be easily shared among diverse PACS. For example, a study stored on one vendor’s PACS can be sent to a second vendor’s workstation at another site with a consistent look. In addition, because the open system integrates with various PACS, it allows Marshfield Clinic to provide backend storage for other organizations. At Marshfield Clinic, the common repository combines TeraMedica Evercore Clinical Enterprise Suite and internally-developed software for image management and smart DICOM routing. When Evercore receives a study, it applies routing and storage rules. That is, if a physician needs to review an image from PACS X on workstation Y, Evercore coerces a DICOM header that integrates into the disparate PACS workflow. Multi-EHR integration Independent imaging centers face a unique set of challenges and intense competition. Many sites are beginning to hear the same request from referring physician offices. Referrers want to view reports in the EHR, which represents a tremendous integration challenge for the practice faced with dozens of EHR systems. On the other hand, the request is a marketing opportunity as the practice that establishes itself as a leader gains a leg up on the competition. Epic Imaging in Portland, Ore., has tackled the challenge, tapping into NeoTool NeoIntegrate interface engine to reduce the cost and improve the process of interface development. “It’s costly to develop a RIS interface for each provider’s EHR,” states John Griffith, operations director and CIO, who estimates the price tag per interface at $20,000 to $25,000. NeoIntegrate reduces the cost to about $5,000 per interface. The HL7 integration engine takes standard RIS feeds and builds outbound messages that conform to each EMR’s requirements. “We improved service to the referring physician population and helped them provide better patient care,” shares Griffith. Reports are automatically placed in an electronic cue for physicians, eliminating the complications, inefficiencies and expense of faxes. The system also monitors each interface, alerting Epic Imaging if an interface goes down. Enterprise integration delivers Sites that tackle the enterprise image integration challenge realize critical benefits. They gain a competitive advantage, boost efficiency across the enterprise and facilitate patient care improvements. The upshot? Enterprise image integration will be a business essential. 24 Health Imaging & IT | october 2008 Healthimaging.com http://www.Healthimaging.com

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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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