Health Imaging & IT - December 2008 - (Page 12)

Technology At Work: What You Need to Compete desktop incorporates everything the radiologist needs to report and diagnose patients: RIS/PACS, syngo Voice for transcription, syngo Webspace for 3D and nodule detection and PET/CT capabilities. The integrated RIS/PACS model works on the imaging center side, too. Carolina Regional Radiology, a full service imaging center in Angier, N.C., recently deployed Aspyra AccessRAD RIS/ PACS as a springboard to the highly efficient filmless/paperless The integrated enterprise radiology model. IT integration is a game changer in radiology as well as across the Other image-intense departments also tap into integration. The healthcare enterprise. Integration takes many forms. RIS/PACS, Heart Center at Duke University Hospital and Health System in enterprise advanced visualization and integrated storage all fall Durham, N.C., first deployed echo PACS under the integration umbrella. Each packs in the early 1990s, and for the next decade a punch. And in a tight fiscal climate, used a modality-centric approach to carwidespread results are critical. Alamance diac image storage, investing in separate Regional Medical Center weighs investPACS for various cardiac imaging modalment against six core categories of comities. Two years ago, the Heart Center mitment: safety, service, efficiency, quality, decided to apply an enterprise image people and growth. Siemens integrated management model in cardiology with syngo Imaging PACS and syngo Workflow Philips Healthcare Xcelera as the cornerRIS produced gains in each area, says Presstone of the new model. ton Hammock, Alamance vice president. The model delivers a number of key Three years ago, the center sought to tap benefits, says James Tcheng, MD, medical into the benefits of digital image manageknowledge architect. For starters, it faciliment via an enterprise PACS project. As key tates efficient, patient-centric clinical stakeholders researched the technology, workflow by consolidating patient data. they realized integrated RIS/PACS repreWhen a physician opens a report with sented a superior alternative. “The initial [ This liver image shows the deep penetration at 20 images in the EHR, PACS opens the imaggoal focused on eliminating film, but we cm using the C6-2 transducer from Zonare Medical es in a few seconds. Online viewing also wound up redefining radiology—reinventSystems’ z.one ultrasound technology. ] allows cardiologists to view images from ing workflow, cutting costs and increasing other institutions to provide instant consults. efficiency for staff, radiologists and patients,” shares Hammock. The Heart Center plans to use Xcelera as a springboard into a Patient care is faster and more responsive, and turnaround time is future that incorporates multi-modality image acquisition and minimal with the integrated implementation. manipulation, or super-imposing multi-modality images to create a On the radiology side, workflow is streamlined and integrated. 3D dataset. Currently, electrophysiology staff use a prototype to synSyngo automatically populates the worklist to reflect daily workflow; thesize datasets from different locations. “This leads to shorter proprior studies are linked to provide quick comparisons, and voice reccedure times and better patient outcomes,” says Tcheng. ognition enables quick sign-off. The gains accumulate downstream. 2009 will see a greater emphasis on the enterprise image manageTake for example film-based ER imaging workflow. The process ment model. “At the end of the day, the advantages are tremendous. of developing, printing and documenting film images required a We’re entering an era where budgets are shrinking. Enterprise image 12- to 24-hour turnaround. In contrast, digital images are immemanagement saves money and time and provides economies of diately available in the ER, enabling informed preliminary results scale,” sums Tcheng. One key economy comes on the storage side. within 15 minutes and final results within 30 minutes for most Duke Heart Center, for example, replaced multiple disparate storage patients. More efficient workflow translates into more direct systems with a 60 terabyte storage area network (SAN). patient care, says Hammock. The center has realized additional impressive gains, saving more than $500,000 annually stemming from reductions in film costs and Taming the storage beast reduced FTEs in transcription and the file room. At the same time, Nearly every healthcare enterprise struggles with data storage. imaging volume has increased by 14 percent. “We would not have been Demands are increasing exponentially, yet space and staff are tight. able to accommodate growth without integrated RIS/PACS,” states Further exacerbating the problem is the specter of IT disaster. As Hammock; however, the recipe for workflow success transcends RIS/ enterprises become more dependent on paperless solutions, the PACS. At Alamance Regional Medical Center, the fully integrated need for comprehensive disaster recovery grows. Tackling the differs from the template and dictates an impression. Compliance fuels cost-savings as the more radiologists comply with self-editing, the greater the cost-savings. Looking ahead, as speech engines improve accuracy to 99 percent, pioneers anticipate improved compliance and greater cost-savings. 12 Health Imaging & IT | December 2008 HealthImaging.com http://www.HealthImaging.com

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Health Imaging & IT - December 2008 Table of Contents The Enterprise News Update Technology at Work: What You Need to Compete Why 1.5T MRI is Leading the Pack Workflow Strategies Aid Advanced Visualization Deployment Illuminating Reading Room Design for Better Reading Strategies Cardiac SPECT Sharpens its Focus OrthoPACS: The Information Backbone of the Orthopedic Clinic Imaging Tools Reader's Resource

Health Imaging & IT - December 2008

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