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1. Case Study
Glens Falls Hospital and
Adirondack Radiology Associates
At a Glance
Improve Care and Workflow via
Organization
Shared Images and Data
Glens Falls Hospital Faced with fragmented imaging silos. Clinicians struggled with
Glens Falls, N.Y. records across a wide geographic fragmented patient imaging
– 320-bed acute-care region and facilities, Glens Falls records, inefficiencies due to
community hospital Hospital and Adirondack duplicate films and manual patient
Adirondack Radiology Associates Radiology Associates needed a reconciliation. They also had
Glens Falls, N.Y. and way to effectively manage medical disparate views of patients when
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. images and reports across the working from different facilities.
enterprise. These providers chose Staff members spent eight to
– Private practice with McKesson’s picture archiving 12 hours per week tracking down
14 radiologists and communications system (PACS) to films for comparison purposes,
four outpatient locations provide a unified view of patient devoted two FTEs to printing, and
records and increase clinician spent more than $400,000 on film.
Solution Spotlight productivity and satisfaction.
– Horizon Medical ImagingTM Results to date include $400,000 Answers
in overall cost savings, the ability To better serve patients, organiza-
to handle 14% more computed tional leaders realized they needed
Critical Issues tomography (CT) cases, and the a unified, high-quality diagnostic
– Fragmented imaging records addition of a new line of business imaging system that would provide
of patients receiving care for digital mammography. “anytime, anywhere” access to
at different facilities patient information, images and
– Clinician productivity Challenges reports. Via a user-friendly graphical
and satisfaction Glens Falls Hospital (GFH) and interface, such a system would
– Patient safety its affiliated private practice enable clinicians to acquire,
radiology group, Adirondack integrate, store, distribute and
– Spiraling healthcare costs Radiology Associates (ARA), serve display all relevant current and prior
more than 250,000 patients in a images, regardless of service site.
Results four-county, 4,000-square-mile Most important, the PACS would
– Enabled anytime, anywhere area in northeastern New York. need to interface with two separate
access to patient information, With patients and physicians radiology information systems
images and reports in a dispersed throughout such a and manage a common patient
unified, single site vast region, the need to “connect” association scheme with a single
and share information and database.
– Eliminated paper as a workflow images created challenges.
driver and helped balance “It was crucial that imaging studies
workload among radiologists Even though the hospital and be available for viewing throughout
– Enhanced patient care and ARA-owned outpatient imaging the enterprise when a patient
safety by providing clinicians centers share many patients, the record was opened in the PACS,
with complete medical two organizations had never regardless of where it originated,”
information worked from common clinical says Dan Chernoff, M.D., Ph.D.,
– Saved more than $400,000 information and medical records radiologist and director of radiology
in film costs alone systems. Instead they maintained services, ARA. “Performed study lists
patient information in separate also had to be available from all
– Added new revenue streams,
including digital mammography

2. Case Study
“Horizon Medical Imaging sites, so the interpretation of studies 14 radiologists can use the system
from a particular point of service from a variety of locations including
allows us to offer the best would not depend on the physical the hospital reading room, four
services to the community and location of the radiologist.” individual outpatient facility
reading stations and their homes
gives us the financial results After sending a request for proposal when on call.
to five different vendors, McKesson’s
that enable us to succeed and Horizon Medical ImagingTM PACS “Availability of specialty expertise
expand our service offerings.” stood out as the only solution wherever the radiologist is
capable of meeting the integration physically located, instant consults,
needs. Other vendors required common worklists for multiple
either an additional separate system radiologists to draw from,
Dan Chernoff, M.D., Ph.D. or a migration to another radiology elimination of paper as a workflow
Radiologist and Director information system. driver, and workload balancing
among radiologists have been big
of Radiology Services, “The system’s multisite association wins for us,” relays Dr. Chernoff.
feature allows distinct patient
Adirondack Radiology records from disparate sites to These “wins” are also paying off
Associates present a unified view of a patient, by enabling GFH and ARA to:
regardless of which facility creates
the patient record,” explains – Handle 14% more computed
Dr. Chernoff. “It allows all patient tomography (CT) cases per day
imaging studies to appear as one
unified record, even if the studies – Reduce overall costs by $400,000
were performed at different per year by eliminating film
nonrelated facilities or placed in
different registration systems. This – Create a new line of revenue by
unified record greatly reduces the adding digital mammography
possibility for error based on lack
of access to – or awareness of – – Increase revenue by offering
relevant prior studies.” the use of the system as a
regional archive for images
Results to noncompeting healthcare
With Horizon Medical Imaging providers
in place, radiologists, referring
physicians and technologists “Horizon Medical Imaging allows
can access unified radiology us to offer the best services to
results, images and worklists the community and gives us the
throughout the healthcare financial results that enable us
enterprise, dramatically improving to succeed and expand our service
workflow and efficiency. For offerings,” concludes Dr. Chernoff.
example, the organization’s
McKesson Provider Technologies
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