The document provides an overview of how integrated RIS/PACS systems can streamline radiology workflows and improve patient care. It features case studies of three healthcare organizations that implemented GE Healthcare's Centricity RIS-IC solution:
1) Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ saw productivity gains of 10-20% for radiologists and reduced radiology workflow from over 50 steps to under 10 steps. Physicians also experienced improved collaboration and faster report turnaround.
2) Radiology and Imaging Specialists in Lakeland, FL, a large radiology practice, used RIS-driven workflow to simplify operations across multiple hospitals and imaging centers.
3) United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia,
Centricity RIS-IC is a radiology information system platform that aims to streamline radiology workflow through increased productivity, seamless patient tracking, and improved revenue capture. It provides tools to improve staff and radiologist productivity, integrate diagnostic reporting, manage paperless workflow, and support breast imaging administration. Centricity RIS-IC leverages a web-based architecture for global access and is designed to be modular and scalable. GE Healthcare has extensive experience implementing radiology information systems and Centricity RIS-IC is used in many leading hospitals.
The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle has successfully increased radiology department productivity through strategic deployment of technology and process improvements. They now complete 15-20% more exams annually with 10 fewer full time employees. This is due in large part to their strong technology partnership with GE Healthcare and use of Centricity RIS/PACS solutions, which have doubled or quadrupled functionality over recent years. The medical center serves as a model for maximizing efficiency through data-driven decisions and optimized workflows enabled by integrated imaging technologies.
This document summarizes strategies for clinician adoption after an EHR go-live presented by Dr. Justin Graham. It recommends embedding HIT into organizational strategy, evolving governance from projects to operations, having realistic EHR expectations, setting virtuous workflow cycles, preparing for requests, learning informatics team management, and keeping vision and momentum. Culture change takes time and an engaged clinical leader, informatics team, and communication plan are important for adoption.
The radiology department at
Baton Rouge General Medical
Center takes pride in using
advanced technologies to offer
top-notch care to patients and
unparalleled service to referring
physicians.
Albemarle Health Delivers MEDITECH EMR System and High Availability on NetAppNetApp
Challenge: Effectively manage and protect growing hospital data residing on MEDITECH and Allscripts EMR systems and Medicity HIE.
Solution: Deliver high-availability health- care systems across multiple hospital sites with new cost efficiencies using NetApp FAS3270HA and FAS3240HA storage systems.
The document outlines requirements for a nursing position, including current RN license and ACLS certification or willingness to obtain within 3 months. It requires a minimum of 1 year experience in emergency ICU or CCU, as well as skills in problem-solving, adapting to change, organization, and implementing protocols. Excellent communication, documentation and attention to detail are emphasized. Microsoft Office proficiency is also required.
This document provides an agenda for a two-day healthcare IT forum taking place on September 2nd and 3rd, 2007. Day one includes presentations on e-health initiatives in the Eastern Mediterranean region, implementing a unified hospital information system across multiple hospitals, smart health centers in Saudi Arabia, evaluating the return on investment of digital health programs, user training, adopting electronic health records, using RFID and wireless technologies in healthcare, and considering e-health and home care. Day two focuses on change management for IT implementation, criteria for selecting hospital information systems, challenges in health information system implementation, project management best practices, automating providers and payers, and improving nursing practice through technology.
The document provides information about McKesson Provider Technologies, including its medication safety solutions for both inpatient and ambulatory settings. It discusses the company's focus on broadscale adoption of technology through solutions that integrate with existing IT systems, as well as through a "surround strategy". Examples are given of implementations at Duke University Hospital and Centra Health that achieved rapid deployment through joint accountability between the organizations and McKesson. Customer testimonials from Duke and Presbyterian Health Services emphasize optimizing clinical workflow and focusing on the patient's perspective in defining technology success.
Centricity RIS-IC is a radiology information system platform that aims to streamline radiology workflow through increased productivity, seamless patient tracking, and improved revenue capture. It provides tools to improve staff and radiologist productivity, integrate diagnostic reporting, manage paperless workflow, and support breast imaging administration. Centricity RIS-IC leverages a web-based architecture for global access and is designed to be modular and scalable. GE Healthcare has extensive experience implementing radiology information systems and Centricity RIS-IC is used in many leading hospitals.
The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle has successfully increased radiology department productivity through strategic deployment of technology and process improvements. They now complete 15-20% more exams annually with 10 fewer full time employees. This is due in large part to their strong technology partnership with GE Healthcare and use of Centricity RIS/PACS solutions, which have doubled or quadrupled functionality over recent years. The medical center serves as a model for maximizing efficiency through data-driven decisions and optimized workflows enabled by integrated imaging technologies.
This document summarizes strategies for clinician adoption after an EHR go-live presented by Dr. Justin Graham. It recommends embedding HIT into organizational strategy, evolving governance from projects to operations, having realistic EHR expectations, setting virtuous workflow cycles, preparing for requests, learning informatics team management, and keeping vision and momentum. Culture change takes time and an engaged clinical leader, informatics team, and communication plan are important for adoption.
The radiology department at
Baton Rouge General Medical
Center takes pride in using
advanced technologies to offer
top-notch care to patients and
unparalleled service to referring
physicians.
Albemarle Health Delivers MEDITECH EMR System and High Availability on NetAppNetApp
Challenge: Effectively manage and protect growing hospital data residing on MEDITECH and Allscripts EMR systems and Medicity HIE.
Solution: Deliver high-availability health- care systems across multiple hospital sites with new cost efficiencies using NetApp FAS3270HA and FAS3240HA storage systems.
The document outlines requirements for a nursing position, including current RN license and ACLS certification or willingness to obtain within 3 months. It requires a minimum of 1 year experience in emergency ICU or CCU, as well as skills in problem-solving, adapting to change, organization, and implementing protocols. Excellent communication, documentation and attention to detail are emphasized. Microsoft Office proficiency is also required.
This document provides an agenda for a two-day healthcare IT forum taking place on September 2nd and 3rd, 2007. Day one includes presentations on e-health initiatives in the Eastern Mediterranean region, implementing a unified hospital information system across multiple hospitals, smart health centers in Saudi Arabia, evaluating the return on investment of digital health programs, user training, adopting electronic health records, using RFID and wireless technologies in healthcare, and considering e-health and home care. Day two focuses on change management for IT implementation, criteria for selecting hospital information systems, challenges in health information system implementation, project management best practices, automating providers and payers, and improving nursing practice through technology.
The document provides information about McKesson Provider Technologies, including its medication safety solutions for both inpatient and ambulatory settings. It discusses the company's focus on broadscale adoption of technology through solutions that integrate with existing IT systems, as well as through a "surround strategy". Examples are given of implementations at Duke University Hospital and Centra Health that achieved rapid deployment through joint accountability between the organizations and McKesson. Customer testimonials from Duke and Presbyterian Health Services emphasize optimizing clinical workflow and focusing on the patient's perspective in defining technology success.
The document lists ambassadors for the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship across several European countries, including their names, organizations, and contact information. Coordinators are also listed for each country along with their contact details. The ambassadors and coordinators are meant to promote entrepreneurship among women and support female entrepreneurs across Europe.
ESMOD Berlin Annual Panel - (What Comes After) Metamodernism - Digital Booklet Esmod Berlin
ESMOD Berlin is pleased to present a digital publication from our inaugural Annual Panel held in May of this year. The panel discussed (What Comes After) Metamodernism, a term coined to describe the shift in contemporary culture away from the trademarks of post modernism. The panels’ brief was to explore the dominant oscillation in culture between disillusionment and meaningfulness, between apathy and empathy with key questions such as; In what direction are the globalized youth going and why? Where is there an overlap with the recent past? Where do we find a combination in the analog and digital in designing individual concepts of life?
Bringing together experts from across various cultural fields the panel discussion was led by Paul Feigelfeld from the Digital Cultures Research Lab Centre, Leuphana University, and included special guests speaker Alex Lieu, Chief Creative Officer and Lead Design Director of 42 Entertainment based in California. 42 Entertainment are one of the leading companies in transmedia marketing whom blur the boundaries between marketing and entertainment. 42 Entertainment are most well known for their innovative campaign for American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails for their album Year Zero, which extrapolated the theme of a dystopian future beyond the album through leaking unreleased recordings online, and planting USB sticks in the toilets of concerts venues, which lead fans down a thrilling rabbit hole into a world of online and offline acts of underground resistance.
Dealing with the life and work of digital dissents, German Author and Director Angela Richter also participated in the panel discussion. Richter spoke about her time working with Wikileakers Founder and digital activist Julian Assange, of whom she wrote a play Assassinate Assange, premiering in 2012. Other notable panelists included Joerg Koch, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of German culture magazine 032c, as well as Dutch cultural philosopher Robin van den Akker, whom with his colleague Timotheus Vermeulen, coined the term metamodernsm and founded the online magazine Notes on Metamodernsim.
Traversing topics such as sci-fi literature, digital hacktivism, sustainable architecture, fashion and DIY maker culture, the publication aims to capture some of the intense and surprising discussions that took place. The ESMOD Berlin Annual Panel is a program conceived for students from a number of international schools, including L'Institut Francais de la Mode, Paris; ESMOD Berlin International Masters Programme – Sustainability in Fashion, Berlin; and Dessau Institute of Architecture. The booklet also aims to deliver an insight into how the students negotiated the concepts and questions raised during discussion.
Download the digital booklet HERE and for further information please contact Lizzie Delfs, Public Relations Manager, International Masters Programme – Sustainability in Fashion, ESMOD Berlin International University of Art for Fashion, m
Wir sind DeinDeal! Alles, was du über DeinDeal wissen musst.Chiara Bello
Wenn die einzige Konstante der Wandel ist, dann ist es gut, in
Bereichen wie Corporate Identity und Corporate Design etwas
Konstanz zu haben und Richtlinien zu definieren. In diesem Buch findest du alles, was du über DeinDeal wissen musst.
Unsere Kultur, Werte, Markenidentität und vieles mehr.
Krisenkommunikation im Social Web (BAW-Vorlesung Dezember 2012)Daniel Rehn
Vorlesung "Krisenkommunikation im Social Web" im Lehrgang "Social Media Manager" der Bayerischen Akademie für Werbung und Marketing vom 15. Dezember 2012.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is a German footballer who played for Bayern Munich from 1998 to 2015. Some of his accomplishments include winning numerous Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League titles with Bayern Munich. He also scored 23 goals for the German national football team and played in five major tournaments for Germany including the 2006 World Cup. Off the pitch, Schweinsteiger enjoys hobbies like golf, reading, skiing, and basketball.
CFIE is a network of IT industry experts that uses a proven methodology to help IT businesses sell to European buyers. The document introduces CFIE's team of managing directors who have extensive experience in IT M&A deals. It then outlines CFIE's process for supporting IT company sales, including initial discussions, due diligence, marketing outreach, negotiations, and closing deals within 30-90 days. Examples are given of CFIE's recent IT M&A transactions across Europe and internationally.
The document discusses plans for developing web resources to support collaboration within the SPOTRIAS network. This includes developing a public website at SPOTRIAS.org to share information, a private intranet for investigators to share documents, announcements and participate in webinars, and improving an existing stroke clinical trials registry. The goals are to facilitate communication and data sharing among investigators in the network and provide up-to-date information on stroke clinical trials to the public.
Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, operating over 130 travel booking sites across multiple brands. It reaches close to 60 million travelers monthly across over 60 countries. Expedia partners with over 145,000 hotels and hundreds of airlines and other travel providers in over 200 destinations. Through acquisitions and partnerships, Expedia offers travel services globally through brands such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia, eLong, and Venere.
Industry trends are impacting cardiovascular services, clinical IT needs and solutions are evolving, and Cardiology IT needs are changing. What does this all mean for cardiologists and patient care?
An Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture 06: Moral Philosophy
James Mooney
Open Studies
The University of Edinburgh
j.mooney@ed.ac.uk
www.filmandphilosophy.com
@film_philosophy
Spanedea Webinar - CAT 2013 - 4 Month RoadMap to Crack Verbal Ability Spanedea - India
The document outlines a 4-month roadmap for preparing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to gain admission to Indian Institutes of Management. It discusses introducing foundational habits like reading daily and developing vocabulary. The plan includes practicing previous CAT papers, focusing on weaknesses through targeted practice, and self-assessment. Key aspects are practicing verbal ability, logical reasoning, and time management. The document promotes a customized online course for CAT preparation offered by Spanedea that provides study modules, tests and doubt clearing sessions over 4 months.
Este documento es un informe sobre la motivación para una clase de psicología general en la Universidad Fermín Toro en Barquisimeto, Venezuela. En menos de 3 oraciones, resume la teoría de la motivación, incluyendo definiciones clave de motivación y factores que influyen en la motivación como necesidades, deseos e incentivos. También incluye enlaces a recursos adicionales sobre la teoría de la motivación.
GE Healthcare has re-imagined the diagnostic report generation process to move Radiology teams to a completely new realm of dictation and report creation. The Centricity®
Precision Reporting for Centricity PACS solution works around you and your needs to help generate diagnostic reports more easily and more accurately than you’ve ever seen before.
Este documento es una tarea de la asignatura Psicología General de la alumna Andrea Suárez para la profesora Yamileth Lucena en la Universidad "Fermín Toro", Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Escuela de Relaciones Industriales en Cabudare, Edo. Lara. La tarea incluye cuatro enlaces a artículos y páginas web sobre la importancia de la motivación y la fijación de objetivos.
The document lists ambassadors for the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship across several European countries, including their names, organizations, and contact information. Coordinators are also listed for each country along with their contact details. The ambassadors and coordinators are meant to promote entrepreneurship among women and support female entrepreneurs across Europe.
ESMOD Berlin Annual Panel - (What Comes After) Metamodernism - Digital Booklet Esmod Berlin
ESMOD Berlin is pleased to present a digital publication from our inaugural Annual Panel held in May of this year. The panel discussed (What Comes After) Metamodernism, a term coined to describe the shift in contemporary culture away from the trademarks of post modernism. The panels’ brief was to explore the dominant oscillation in culture between disillusionment and meaningfulness, between apathy and empathy with key questions such as; In what direction are the globalized youth going and why? Where is there an overlap with the recent past? Where do we find a combination in the analog and digital in designing individual concepts of life?
Bringing together experts from across various cultural fields the panel discussion was led by Paul Feigelfeld from the Digital Cultures Research Lab Centre, Leuphana University, and included special guests speaker Alex Lieu, Chief Creative Officer and Lead Design Director of 42 Entertainment based in California. 42 Entertainment are one of the leading companies in transmedia marketing whom blur the boundaries between marketing and entertainment. 42 Entertainment are most well known for their innovative campaign for American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails for their album Year Zero, which extrapolated the theme of a dystopian future beyond the album through leaking unreleased recordings online, and planting USB sticks in the toilets of concerts venues, which lead fans down a thrilling rabbit hole into a world of online and offline acts of underground resistance.
Dealing with the life and work of digital dissents, German Author and Director Angela Richter also participated in the panel discussion. Richter spoke about her time working with Wikileakers Founder and digital activist Julian Assange, of whom she wrote a play Assassinate Assange, premiering in 2012. Other notable panelists included Joerg Koch, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of German culture magazine 032c, as well as Dutch cultural philosopher Robin van den Akker, whom with his colleague Timotheus Vermeulen, coined the term metamodernsm and founded the online magazine Notes on Metamodernsim.
Traversing topics such as sci-fi literature, digital hacktivism, sustainable architecture, fashion and DIY maker culture, the publication aims to capture some of the intense and surprising discussions that took place. The ESMOD Berlin Annual Panel is a program conceived for students from a number of international schools, including L'Institut Francais de la Mode, Paris; ESMOD Berlin International Masters Programme – Sustainability in Fashion, Berlin; and Dessau Institute of Architecture. The booklet also aims to deliver an insight into how the students negotiated the concepts and questions raised during discussion.
Download the digital booklet HERE and for further information please contact Lizzie Delfs, Public Relations Manager, International Masters Programme – Sustainability in Fashion, ESMOD Berlin International University of Art for Fashion, m
Wir sind DeinDeal! Alles, was du über DeinDeal wissen musst.Chiara Bello
Wenn die einzige Konstante der Wandel ist, dann ist es gut, in
Bereichen wie Corporate Identity und Corporate Design etwas
Konstanz zu haben und Richtlinien zu definieren. In diesem Buch findest du alles, was du über DeinDeal wissen musst.
Unsere Kultur, Werte, Markenidentität und vieles mehr.
Krisenkommunikation im Social Web (BAW-Vorlesung Dezember 2012)Daniel Rehn
Vorlesung "Krisenkommunikation im Social Web" im Lehrgang "Social Media Manager" der Bayerischen Akademie für Werbung und Marketing vom 15. Dezember 2012.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is a German footballer who played for Bayern Munich from 1998 to 2015. Some of his accomplishments include winning numerous Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League titles with Bayern Munich. He also scored 23 goals for the German national football team and played in five major tournaments for Germany including the 2006 World Cup. Off the pitch, Schweinsteiger enjoys hobbies like golf, reading, skiing, and basketball.
CFIE is a network of IT industry experts that uses a proven methodology to help IT businesses sell to European buyers. The document introduces CFIE's team of managing directors who have extensive experience in IT M&A deals. It then outlines CFIE's process for supporting IT company sales, including initial discussions, due diligence, marketing outreach, negotiations, and closing deals within 30-90 days. Examples are given of CFIE's recent IT M&A transactions across Europe and internationally.
The document discusses plans for developing web resources to support collaboration within the SPOTRIAS network. This includes developing a public website at SPOTRIAS.org to share information, a private intranet for investigators to share documents, announcements and participate in webinars, and improving an existing stroke clinical trials registry. The goals are to facilitate communication and data sharing among investigators in the network and provide up-to-date information on stroke clinical trials to the public.
Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, operating over 130 travel booking sites across multiple brands. It reaches close to 60 million travelers monthly across over 60 countries. Expedia partners with over 145,000 hotels and hundreds of airlines and other travel providers in over 200 destinations. Through acquisitions and partnerships, Expedia offers travel services globally through brands such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia, eLong, and Venere.
Industry trends are impacting cardiovascular services, clinical IT needs and solutions are evolving, and Cardiology IT needs are changing. What does this all mean for cardiologists and patient care?
An Introduction to Philosophy
Lecture 06: Moral Philosophy
James Mooney
Open Studies
The University of Edinburgh
j.mooney@ed.ac.uk
www.filmandphilosophy.com
@film_philosophy
Spanedea Webinar - CAT 2013 - 4 Month RoadMap to Crack Verbal Ability Spanedea - India
The document outlines a 4-month roadmap for preparing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to gain admission to Indian Institutes of Management. It discusses introducing foundational habits like reading daily and developing vocabulary. The plan includes practicing previous CAT papers, focusing on weaknesses through targeted practice, and self-assessment. Key aspects are practicing verbal ability, logical reasoning, and time management. The document promotes a customized online course for CAT preparation offered by Spanedea that provides study modules, tests and doubt clearing sessions over 4 months.
Este documento es un informe sobre la motivación para una clase de psicología general en la Universidad Fermín Toro en Barquisimeto, Venezuela. En menos de 3 oraciones, resume la teoría de la motivación, incluyendo definiciones clave de motivación y factores que influyen en la motivación como necesidades, deseos e incentivos. También incluye enlaces a recursos adicionales sobre la teoría de la motivación.
GE Healthcare has re-imagined the diagnostic report generation process to move Radiology teams to a completely new realm of dictation and report creation. The Centricity®
Precision Reporting for Centricity PACS solution works around you and your needs to help generate diagnostic reports more easily and more accurately than you’ve ever seen before.
Este documento es una tarea de la asignatura Psicología General de la alumna Andrea Suárez para la profesora Yamileth Lucena en la Universidad "Fermín Toro", Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Escuela de Relaciones Industriales en Cabudare, Edo. Lara. La tarea incluye cuatro enlaces a artículos y páginas web sobre la importancia de la motivación y la fijación de objetivos.
𝓗ealthcare professionals often use a bunch of jargon when talking among themselves and this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s completely natural if it makes communication effective in an industry. Acronyms in particular, offer a bunch of benefits as they offer a simple way to describe situations, processes, concepts and other specific items that otherwise would make the conversation impossible to understand.
Radiology is the medical branch that uses imaging technology to diagnose and treat diseases. This in turn generates a huge amount of data that needs to be stored securely and should be available 24x7 to the relevant professionals.
To store the data without having to physically search and retrieve the files, radiologists utilize software tools that ease their work allowing them to focus on the more significant things. This is where software's like RIS, PACS and HIS come into the picture. If you’re completely in the dark about what RIS is and how it will benefit your institute, then you’re at the right place.
Here, we will discuss what RIS is, its importance, the basics of RIS and what the future holds for it.
This document discusses accountable care and evidence-based decision making in health care. It provides background on rising health care costs in the US and efforts to promote comparative effectiveness research (CER) and patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) to address this. It describes the 2009 $1.1 billion ARRA investment in CER and subsequent funding opportunities for PCOR through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The document also discusses challenges of using CER/PCOR findings and the need to incorporate clinical decision-maker perspectives. It analyzes how different payment models like fee-for-service, pay-for-quality programs, episode-based
Storage economics for healthcare providers webinarHitachi Vantara
The document discusses how healthcare providers can reduce data management costs through storage economics. It describes the unique challenges providers face with explosive data growth, inefficient data access, compliance regulations, and strict budgets. Storage economics helps optimize costs by identifying all storage costs, defining superior architectures, and aligning strategies to standards to reduce total ownership costs and improve return on investment. Providers can benefit from applying these principles to justify investments and develop economically superior solutions to manage healthcare data more efficiently.
Rapid Response to Hospital Operations using Data and AI during COVID-19Databricks
Healthcare leaders today are faced with increasingly complex and unprecedented challenges. With COVID-19 taking the world by storm, the need for an intelligent system of insights that can proactively deliver actionable and real-time knowledge on patient populations is imminent to providing better care.
The Future of Radiology is Here How RIS Technology is Revolutionizing Medical...PostDICOM
In this blog post, we will delve into the world of RIS radiology, exploring its purpose, benefits, and how it contributes to patient care. So, let's dive right in!
Ensuring Security and Privacy in the HIE Market - Redspin Information SecurityRedspin, Inc.
The adoption of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) offers benefits like improved quality of care and increased efficiency. However, ensuring security and privacy is challenging as HIEs provide a target for cybercrime. Emerging HIE models involve cloud platforms where providers manage security, but transparency is needed. One of the major challenges is demonstrating compliance with regulations while protecting data and detecting incidents. Close cooperation is required between platform providers, operators, and customers to effectively govern security.
Enhancing Hospital Standards Through PACS and RIS IntegrationSimplirad
In the realm of healthcare, maintaining high "hospital standards" is paramount for ensuring quality care and patient safety. These standards encompass guidelines and practices that healthcare institutions adhere to, guiding every aspect of medical service delivery. They create a foundation of reliability and excellence that patients rely on for their well-being.
PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and RIS (Radiology Information System) emerge as dynamic technological allies in this pursuit of hospital standards. PACS revolutionizes the management of medical images, facilitating efficient storage and retrieval while minimizing the risk of errors. On the other hand, RIS orchestrates the symphony of radiology operations, optimizing scheduling, data management, and communication among healthcare professionals.
The integration of PACS and RIS doesn't just represent technological innovation; it signifies a commitment to enhancing "hospital standards" in delivering patient-centric care. Through these systems, hospitals streamline processes, minimize delays, and ensure accurate data management. As we delve into their functionalities and benefits, it becomes evident that PACS and RIS are key drivers of improved hospital standards, making strides toward a healthcare landscape defined by excellence, precision, and unwavering patient trust.
PACS and RIS: Powering a Healthcare Revolution
Imagine hospital standards as the guiding principles for delivering exceptional healthcare, and envision PACS and RIS as the dynamic duo that takes these standards to the next level. PACS, like a digital librarian, meticulously organizes X-rays, scans, and other images, making them instantly accessible for doctors via computers. This streamlined process not only saves time but also aids in precise diagnoses. On the other hand, RIS acts as the conductor of the radiology symphony. It orchestrates appointment scheduling, patient tracking, and test coordination while also collaborating seamlessly with PACS to match images with patients accurately.
The convergence of PACS and RIS significantly amplifies hospital standards by enhancing data management, collaboration, and the overall healthcare experience, resulting in precise diagnoses and streamlined patient care. This technology aligns perfectly with rigorous hospital standards, enhancing healthcare quality and patient outcomes in several ways.
Digital radiography (DR) has transformed pediatric radiology by reducing radiation dose, imaging costs, and patient turnaround times compared to film-screen radiography and computed radiography. DR allows images to be acquired digitally and viewed immediately, improving workflow efficiency. Studies have shown average turnaround times for skeletal exams decreased from 12 minutes with film-screen radiography to 3 minutes with DR. Faster turnaround times with DR have improved relations between radiology and clinical services by keeping pace with busy clinics. Phoenix Children's Hospital transitioned exclusively to DR and saw these benefits firsthand with the installation of multiple DR units, including one with a dual-detector configuration.
1) PACS is a physical computer network that allows for digital medical images and reports to be stored, distributed, and displayed across a healthcare system.
2) DICOM is the standard that allows different components of a PACS network, such as imaging machines and workstations, to communicate with each other.
3) Key components of a PACS include image acquisition devices, display workstations for viewing images, archive servers for long-term storage, and workflow systems to manage image routing.
Improve Patient Care and Reduce IT Costs with Vendor Neutral Archiving and Cl...EMC
This white paper discusses how vendor neutral archiving (VNA) combined with cloud storage on the EMC Atmos platform can help healthcare organizations improve patient care and reduce IT costs. By breaking down PACS silos and providing secure access to medical images from any device, VNA and cloud storage reduce storage and archive costs while enabling images to be accessed at the point of care. A case study is presented of how one healthcare network leveraged this approach to improve medical imaging workflows.
Innovation in Enterprise Imaging: Clinical Context is What's NextTodd Winey
Clinicians have one word for what they want from your next generation enterprise imaging solutions. Context. A recent study in the Journal of Digital Imaging suggests that nearly 60% of radiology orders have no mention of important chronic conditions, calling it “an alarming lack of communication” that “may negatively impact interpretation quality.” Imaging orders such as “chest pain” or “lower abdominal pain,” for example, are essentially context free, giving clinicians little information to work with. Access to a complete clinical history behind those orders can help clinicians provide richer input for more accurate diagnoses and more effective care plans, along with results of the imaging study.
The document summarizes the major topics in radiology IT that will be covered at the RSNA annual meeting. It discusses initiatives around monitoring patient radiation exposure through initiatives like the IHE-REM profile. It also covers efforts to improve image sharing through standards like IHE XDS for sharing images and reports between institutions. Additional areas covered include decision support, teaching/research tools like MIRC and CTP, and the use of Radlex as an ontology. RSNA's informatics committee and showcase at the annual meeting will provide more details on these initiatives.
Springfield Clinic, a large multispecialty clinic in Illinois, implemented the Allscripts Enterprise electronic health record system across its 24 locations to consolidate paper medical records into a unified electronic record. The EHR system provides physicians access to up-to-date patient information from any location through tablet PCs. The clinic piloted the system at one site, then rolled it out to other sites, declaring them paperless within two days. Now physicians have instant access to complete patient records which improves continuity of care across the multiple physicians that may see each patient.
The document discusses telemedicine and smarter healthcare enabled by new technologies. It notes challenges facing healthcare like rising costs and aging populations. IBM believes innovative use of IT can enable new care delivery models by making healthcare information digital and accessible across organizations. This allows minimizing patient travel and extending care settings. IBM's role focuses on integration strategies using middleware, dashboards, and analytical tools to securely share standardized information and accelerate innovation. Telehealth could connect the wider ecosystem like pharmacies, employers, and life sciences. Potential entry points include integrating medical device data from homes and hospitals into clinical applications and dashboards for clinicians and nurses.
In light of Cloud Computing System CDA Generation and Integration for Health ...IJAEMSJORNAL
Theoretical Successful sending of Electronic Health Record enhances tolerant security and nature of care, however it has the essential of interoperability between Health Information Exchange at various doctor's facilities. The Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) created by HL7 is a center record standard to guarantee such interoperability, and engendering of this archive configuration is basic for interoperability. Lamentably, clinics are hesitant to receive interoperable HIS because of its organization fetched with the exception of in a modest bunch nations. An issue emerges notwithstanding when more healing facilities begin utilizing the CDA archive arrange on the grounds that the information scattered in various reports are difficult to oversee. In this paper, we portray our CDA report era and incorporation Open API benefit in light of distributed computing, through which doctor's facilities are empowered to advantageously create CDA archives without purchasing restrictive programming. Our CDA archive combination framework incorporates various CDA records per tolerant into a solitary CDA report and doctors and patients can peruse the clinical information in sequential request. Our arrangement of CDA report era and joining depends on distributed computing and the administration is offered in Open API. Engineers utilizing distinctive stages along these lines can utilize our framework to improve interoperability.
Similar to Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations (20)
This is a Centricity Live 2013 conference session presentation, featuring Centricity RIS-IC and it's interfacing into larger healthcare IT environment.
Centricity Perioperative is a software solution that provides comprehensive management of perioperative workflows including surgery scheduling, sterile processing, inventory management, and nursing documentation. It allows tracking of surgical instruments, preference cards, patients and procedures. Key features include tracking instrument locations and usage histories, managing inventory with barcoding, configurable reports, and integrated perioperative management.
In most hospitals, the perioperative department drives the lion’s share of revenues-typically around 50-60%-while contributing 30-40% of the costs.1 Those costs largely reflect supply consumption. According to one study, supply costs accounted for 56 % of the total expense budget for a perioperative department, exceeding salary costs by more than 20%. 2
Facing major capital and operational budget pressure, most healthcare organizations are seeking more effective ways to reduce OR supply costs while preserving or even improving patient safety, operational efficiency, and staff productivity.
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) facilitate fast and accurate access to patient
records, which could improve diagnosis and patient monitoring. Using a 12-year county-
level panel, we nd that a 10 percent increase in births that occur in hospitals with
EMRs reduces neonatal mortality by 16 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is driven
by a reduction of deaths from conditions requiring careful monitoring. We also nd a
strong decrease in mortality when we instrument for EMRs adoption using variation in
state medical privacy laws. Rough cost-eectiveness calculations suggest that EMRs
are associated with a cost of $531,000 per baby's life saved.
This document discusses how River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, Mississippi uses GE Healthcare's Centricity Perinatal electronic documentation system in their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The system streamlines documentation, allowing nurses to spend more time with patients. It also improves continuity of care by giving doctors and nurses access to patient and maternal records. Nurses praise the system for being easy to use and increasing physician access while reducing interface time. The records also help facilitate discharge planning and ensure follow-up care information is communicated.
As radiology departments transform themselves in this era of healthcare reform, they
are seeking IT solutions and process efficiencies that support a culture of accountability.
Digital “dashboards” can enable this accountability by providing real-time operational
performance measurements spanning the workflow continuum of radiology.
Today, GE Healthcare is uniquely positioned to apply its deep industry expertise to
deliver a business intelligence solution that provides unparalleled real-time visibility
to the entire radiology department.
It’s part of our belief in the power of healthcare IT to make a meaningful difference in
people’s lives and drive efficiency in all tiers through a bold vision: One Desktop, One Patient, One Community.
Clarus Imaging experiences positive impact
from Centricity RIS/PACS-IW Solution
• 25 percent increase in volume at its three imaging centers by improving scheduling
to reduce idle time, add more time slots and see more patients per day
• Accounts receivable went from 60 to 90 days to less than 30 days
• 21 percent increase in collections from 2008 to 2009
• Strengthened competitive positioning by offering images and reports via Internet
to referring physicians
• Scheduling is more precise, billing is more accurate, claims denials and average days
in accounts receivable are down
• Native billing system in the RIS/PACS-IW Solution has DRA/OPPS Logic billing, which
submits the highest reimbursable study first in sequence on multiple studies, maximizing
the reimbursement rates
Paperless Workflow: Economical. Efficient. Essential.
Reducing paper can
help save time, money,
and space.
Centricity RIS-IC eForms
not only takes paper out
of the workflow, but makes
information accessible when
and where it’s needed –
only a click away.
Helping to improve imaging workflow and patient care with Centricity* PACS-IW
GE Healthcare’s Centricity PACS-IW is an integrated picture archiving and communication system (PACS) designed to help improve imaging workflow and enhance patient safety in community hospital radiology departments, imaging centers, and multi-specialty group practices. Built with all the flexibility and advanced technology required by today’s medical enterprises and healthcare reform regulations, this web-based solution offers simplicity of design, breadth of functionality, integration flexibility, and compelling value.
This document discusses the benefits of implementing an electronic medical records (EMR) system for perinatal care. It notes that EMRs can help reduce medical errors, improve communication and patient safety, and support clinical decision making. The document also outlines how EMRs can help healthcare organizations meet meaningful use criteria, enhance defensive medicine practices, and potentially improve their financial bottom line over time. Overall, the document advocates for EMR adoption in perinatal care due to the clinical benefits and opportunities it provides.
This document describes the features and capabilities of GE Healthcare's Centricity PACS-IW picture archiving and communication system (PACS). Some key points:
1) Centricity PACS-IW is a web-based PACS solution that allows clinicians to access patient images and data online from any location.
2) It provides a seamless transition to filmless workflows both within and across healthcare organizations.
3) The system complies with industry standards and interfaces with various hospital and clinical IT systems.
4) It aims to maximize productivity by enabling fast access to prior and current patient exams from a common interface.
More from GE Healthcare - Specialty Solutions (14)
These lecture slides, by Dr Sidra Arshad, offer a simplified look into the mechanisms involved in the regulation of respiration:
Learning objectives:
1. Describe the organisation of respiratory center
2. Describe the nervous control of inspiration and respiratory rhythm
3. Describe the functions of the dorsal and respiratory groups of neurons
4. Describe the influences of the Pneumotaxic and Apneustic centers
5. Explain the role of Hering-Breur inflation reflex in regulation of inspiration
6. Explain the role of central chemoreceptors in regulation of respiration
7. Explain the role of peripheral chemoreceptors in regulation of respiration
8. Explain the regulation of respiration during exercise
9. Integrate the respiratory regulatory mechanisms
10. Describe the Cheyne-Stokes breathing
Study Resources:
1. Chapter 42, Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 14th edition
2. Chapter 36, Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology, 26th edition
3. Chapter 13, Human Physiology by Lauralee Sherwood, 9th edition
How to Control Your Asthma Tips by gokuldas hospital.Gokuldas Hospital
Respiratory issues like asthma are the most sensitive issue that is affecting millions worldwide. It hampers the daily activities leaving the body tired and breathless.
The key to a good grip on asthma is proper knowledge and management strategies. Understanding the patient-specific symptoms and carving out an effective treatment likewise is the best way to keep asthma under control.
Giloy in Ayurveda - Classical Categorization and SynonymsPlanet Ayurveda
Giloy, also known as Guduchi or Amrita in classical Ayurvedic texts, is a revered herb renowned for its myriad health benefits. It is categorized as a Rasayana, meaning it has rejuvenating properties that enhance vitality and longevity. Giloy is celebrated for its ability to boost the immune system, detoxify the body, and promote overall wellness. Its anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and antioxidant properties make it a staple in managing conditions like fever, diabetes, and stress. The versatility and efficacy of Giloy in supporting health naturally highlight its importance in Ayurveda. At Planet Ayurveda, we provide a comprehensive range of health services and 100% herbal supplements that harness the power of natural ingredients like Giloy. Our products are globally available and affordable, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. If you or your loved ones are dealing with health issues, contact Planet Ayurveda at 01725214040 to book an online video consultation with our professional doctors. Let us help you achieve optimal health and wellness naturally.
Summer is a time for fun in the sun, but the heat and humidity can also wreak havoc on your skin. From itchy rashes to unwanted pigmentation, several skin conditions become more prevalent during these warmer months.
Know the difference between Endodontics and Orthodontics.Gokuldas Hospital
Your smile is beautiful.
Let’s be honest. Maintaining that beautiful smile is not an easy task. It is more than brushing and flossing. Sometimes, you might encounter dental issues that need special dental care. These issues can range anywhere from misalignment of the jaw to pain in the root of teeth.
- Video recording of this lecture in English language: https://youtu.be/Pt1nA32sdHQ
- Video recording of this lecture in Arabic language: https://youtu.be/uFdc9F0rlP0
- Link to download the book free: https://nephrotube.blogspot.com/p/nephrotube-nephrology-books.html
- Link to NephroTube website: www.NephroTube.com
- Link to NephroTube social media accounts: https://nephrotube.blogspot.com/p/join-nephrotube-on-social-media.html
Histololgy of Female Reproductive System.pptxAyeshaZaid1
Dive into an in-depth exploration of the histological structure of female reproductive system with this comprehensive lecture. Presented by Dr. Ayesha Irfan, Assistant Professor of Anatomy, this presentation covers the Gross anatomy and functional histology of the female reproductive organs. Ideal for students, educators, and anyone interested in medical science, this lecture provides clear explanations, detailed diagrams, and valuable insights into female reproductive system. Enhance your knowledge and understanding of this essential aspect of human biology.
PGx Analysis in VarSeq: A User’s PerspectiveGolden Helix
Since our release of the PGx capabilities in VarSeq, we’ve had a few months to gather some insights from various use cases. Some users approach PGx workflows by means of array genotyping or what seems to be a growing trend of adding the star allele calling to the existing NGS pipeline for whole genome data. Luckily, both approaches are supported with the VarSeq software platform. The genotyping method being used will also dictate what the scope of the tertiary analysis will be. For example, are your PGx reports a standalone pipeline or would your lab’s goal be to handle a dual-purpose workflow and report on PGx + Diagnostic findings.
The purpose of this webcast is to:
Discuss and demonstrate the approaches with array and NGS genotyping methods for star allele calling to prep for downstream analysis.
Following genotyping, explore alternative tertiary workflow concepts in VarSeq to handle PGx reporting.
Moreover, we will include insights users will need to consider when validating their PGx workflow for all possible star alleles and options you have for automating your PGx analysis for large number of samples. Please join us for a session dedicated to the application of star allele genotyping and subsequent PGx workflows in our VarSeq software.
Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations
1. F e b r u a r y 20 0 8 s u p p l e m e n t to
Cooper University Hospital
Changing the
Playing Field with
Integrated RIS/PACS
Radiology and Imaging Specialists
RIS-driven Workflow
Simplifies a Complex
Practice
United Memorial Medical Center
RIS/PACS Propels the
Community Hospital
Speech:
The Next-Generation
‘Smart’ Report
RIS in the Outpatient
Imaging Center
Ensuring Success:
RIS/PACS Consultation
& Training
sponsored by an educational grant from
GE Healthcare
4. case study: Cooper University Hospital | Camden, N.J.
by Lisa Fr at t
Changing the Playing Field
with Integrated RIS/PACS
Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., is a 500-bed level I trauma center that operates
Cooper University Hospital
in a highly competitive market. The hospital sits in close proximity to Philadelphia, and the
city dominates the local healthcare market. Consequently, Cooper University Hospital faces
a tremendous challenge. It aims to retain university healthcare in the South Jersey region
and prevent patients from migrating to Philadelphia for treatment. Cooper University
Hospital houses six centers of excellence that include cardiology, trauma, critical care,
neurosciences, orthopedic surgery and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. One of the latest
arrows in its competitive quiver is GE Healthcare Centricity RIS-IC.
Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
5. T
he combination of integrated RIS/PACS Mullen track bottlenecks at all levels of the imaging chain. Finally,
and RIS-driven workflow has reshaped the projections provided by Centricity will provide Cooper the data to
enterprise, enabling it to increase produc- make smart business decisions, answering questions about the num-
tivity among all physicians and boost time- ber of technologists and equipment needed to support imaging cen-
liness of patient care. The radiology depart- ters in new catchment areas. Equally important, Centricity can help
ment is better serving its users, too. Report Mullen determine minimum profitable volumes for new endeavors.
turnaround time has dropped, and images
are universally available, streamlining con- Digital workflow delivers
sultations and allowing physicians to make more informed treat- “Centricity has had a tremendously positive impact for all the physi-
ment decisions. Here’s how the hospital achieved its results. cians throughout the hospital,” Baraldi says. “The ease and ability of
The journey from manual to filmless (and beyond) The IT Angle
Cooper University Hospital operates a high-volume radiology
department. Each year, the department completes 200,000 studies RIS/PACS weds IT and
and offers a full range of diagnostic imaging services on the main clinical systems, and the
hospital campus and at three satellite imaging centers. Until a few success of an installation
years ago, the radiology department relied on film and manual pro- hinges on both partners.
cesses to serve its patients and physicians. “The most important
“When I arrived in 2003, the radiology department was purely man- part of the deployment
ual. It used ‘sneaker net,’ which was challenging on many levels,” recalls is integration within your
Jerry Mullen, administrative director of radiology. The hospital real- IT department. RIS/PACS
ized it needed to improve processes to remain competitive and provide is a clinical tool, but it’s
quality patient care, so it began surveying the RIS/PACS landscape. truly an IT project; you
The ideal workflow model was clear from day one, according to have to engage your IT
Chief of Radiology Ray Baraldi, MD. RIS/PACS uses a single database, department,” says Jerry [ Chief of Radiology Ray Baraldi, MD, reads
which streamlines integration of key functions. “The RIS is the brains images in the main reading room at Cooper;
Mullen, administrative RIS/PACS has helped increase radiologist
of the engine; PACS is really just an image display,” explains Baraldi. director of radiology productivity with radiologists reading 50 to 100
percent more studies per day. ]
The hospital focused on locating a solution to manage end-to-end at Cooper University
workflow from scheduling to billing, says CIO Karen Graham. PACS- Hospital in Camden, N.J. CIO Karen Graham was a key
driven workflow, on the other hand, is radiologist-centric and can lead player in the hospital’s RIS/PACS project from day one, as the
to broken steps—and delays—in the workflow process. project dovetailed with her focus on corporate, rather than
“The advantage of having the single database includes the effec- departmental, IT structure.
tive and closely aligned functionality between the RIS and PACS, The hospital initiated its RIS/PACS project by soliciting input
and the integration with the HIS. Integrating from a single data- from the IT department, sharing its clinical and workflow
base is important because the fewer databases that need to speak to goals with a clinical and IT-based team. The IT department,
each other, the better,” adds Baraldi. in turn, evaluated the architecture of various systems
RIS-driven workflow offers other advantages, too. For example, under consideration to ensure a good fit with the hospital’s
a sophisticated QA program monitors the number of exceptions infrastructure. “Find a vendor that fit’s the hospital’s approach
and lost studies. The QA program shows that Cooper University to IT implementation,” recommends Graham.
Hospital has reduced these metrics to zero. The system also facili- Prior to deploying GE Healthcare Centricity RIS-IC, the
tates proactive planning, says Mullen, who plans to use it to create hospital invested in appropriate IT infrastructure and digital
a three- to five-year business plan to optimize PACS and grow the imaging systems such as CR and a gigabit network. It also
hospital’s radiology business. placed RIS/PACS workstations in key areas throughout the
Currently, the department is developing a dashboard to monitor enterprise—including ORs and on clinical floors.
imaging utilization. “We can make sure that they’re trending in the The plan worked. Cooper University Hospital has
right direction and optimize our schedules if we need to change leapfrogged over early adopters, says Mullen. Physicians have
them,” Mullen says. “At one site where we have a no-show rate of embraced digital image management, CPOE and RIS/PACS-
about 50 percent, we triple-book to make sure that the schedule embedded voice recognition to help the hospital become a
reaches capacity. Without the report generated by Centricity, I filmless, paperless provider of swift, high-quality healthcare.
wouldn’t know we need to overbook.” In addition, the feature helps
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations
6. image and report review has increased efficiency and productivity Prior to RIS/PACS, the hospital relied on film for image acquisi-
across the board for our physicians. Some report 10 to 20 percent tion and review and an antiquated courier system for distribution.
increases in productivity.” The productivity increase is even more “It was difficult to discuss findings,” recalls Eric Hume, MD, vice
dramatic in the radiology department, where radiologists read 50 to chair of orthopedic surgery. With Centricity, referring physicians
100 percent more studies per day, according to James Kovacs, MD, can review images simultaneously with radiologists and specialists.
section head of abdominal and body imaging. Graham uses a differ- The system relays more detailed information more rapidly. Physi-
ent stat to describe overall workflow. “Prior to Centricity RIS-IC, cians can point to or list the slice position number and measure and
radiology workflow comprised more than 50 steps. Since Centricity, describe findings collaboratively.
the hospital has reduced that number to fewer than 10.” Digital image management also slashed radiology turnaround
Productivity gains derive from ease of use, integration with other time. The benefit to patients is two-fold, says Kovacs. Physicians can
systems such as CPOE and elimination of manual, paper-based pro- view images expeditiously, a critical factor in the trauma center. “Our
cesses. For example, in many cases radiologists and technologists com- ability to get patients back to where they need to be and to relay
municate via Centricity instead of by telephone, which reduces wait results impacts patient care on a daily basis,” continues Kovacs. Plus,
time and miscommunication. Features like a simple red flag, rather patients can access their studies, enabling smoother referrals.
than a phone call, to alert radiologists to a STAT study also save time.
The winning combination
Improved patient care under the microscope GE Centricity RIS-IC and RIS-driven workflow is the perfect com-
Importantly, the decision to deploy Centricity RIS-IC has improved bination at Cooper University Hospital. The academic hospital and
patient care in a number of ways at Cooper University Hospital. The hos- trauma center has improved workflow, report turnaround time
pital defines radiology as a service department. Its job is to image patients and patient care since embracing the new system. What’s more, it
and provide results to other physicians, so they can determine the next enables data-driven decision-making and provides a solid founda-
step in patient care. “That’s why we need RIS/PACS,” says Baraldi. tion for future growth. ■
Inside the Digital Department
Orthopedics is traditionally a heavy consumer of imaging, and the orthopedic surgery department
at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., fits inside the bell curve. It differs from some other
sites, however, in its commitment to integrated RIS/PACS, RIS-driven workflow and state of the art,
image-enabled surgical suites.
Three operating rooms are outfitted with video capability, workstations and a display that can
be pulled down into the surgical field. Video routers that can pull images from a variety of different
locations and monitors are scattered around the rooms. The routers can pull images from a variety
of different locations. RIS/PACS workstations provide access to order entry via the intranet and
internet. Orthopedic surgeons can navigate through imaging datasets to project images on screens
[ Integrated RIS/PACS has enabled image access during through out the room. Rooms also feature light cameras, jacks for
surgery—a new business essential—says Cooper University different video signals and USB and video ports for new equipment.
Hospital Vice Chair of Orthopedic Surgery Eric Hume, MD. ]
Nine other ORs include PACS workstations.
Although the current configuration provides image access in all ORs, the hospital plans to build several new operating rooms
that further take advantage of RIS/PACS, laparoscopy and other video image generating technology. The key component is a
video router system and a computer with access to the internet, says Eric Hume, MD, vice chair of orthopedic surgery.
Centricity helps the department provide high-quality patient care outside the OR, too. In the film world, the image isn’t
always in the right place, forcing the physician to make a decision without the data, order another image or wait for the
data to arrive by courier. These issues no longer exist at Cooper. Images are always and universally available. And although
orthopedic surgeons were a bit skeptical about the ability of the hospital’s standard monitors to display imaging data, their
fears were unfounded. “It turns out any plain vanilla box [display] around the hospital works just fine to look at the AP lateral
tibia fracture before and after the nail was put in to verify the alignment. And exploding a single CT or MRI panel on a 15- or
17-inch monitor shows detail not visible on three-by-four inch plain film panels,” says Hume.
The upshot? RIS/PACS has become a business essential in the 21st century orthopedic surgery department. “It’s like email
or the ATM; we couldn’t do without it,” states Hume.
Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
7. Radiology Imaging Specialists | Lakeland, Fla. case study:
by Lisa Fr at t
[ Radiologist Scott Fargher, MD, reads PET images on a GE Healthcare
Centricity RIS-IC workstation at one of Radiology and Imaging Specialists’
imaging centers in Lakeland, Fla. ]
RIS-driven Workflow
Simplifies a Complex Practice
Radiology and Imaging Specialists in Lakeland, Fla., is a complex radiology
practice. The group provides professional services for four hospitals in
central Florida and operates five geographically diverse imaging centers.
Its 17 radiologists interpret 500,000 studies for more than 100 referring
physician offices annually. In addition, Radiology and Imaging Specialists
leases its image management system to another practice.
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations
8. T
he practice’s complex configuration is pre-certifications. RIS/PACS automates theses key workflows; the
profitable in the booming central Florida practice is confident that staff has efficiently gathered all informa-
market, but it does present significant tion needed for both reimbursement and patient safety. In addi-
challenges. COO and CIO David Marichal tion, items like patient allergies and contraindications are visible
explains, “When I arrived in 2003, the across the system to prevent problems.
practice had no RIS or PACS. There were RIS-driven workflow also helped the practice improve physician
too many workflow inefficiencies for a workflow, allowing it to deliver everything radiologists need to
standard standalone PACS.” accurately interpret the study in the minimum number of clicks.
Marichal realized that web-based RIS architecture could address The patient record and images are available in a single location.
many of the practice’s challenges by providing a consistent view of RIS/PACS also separates studies for referring physicians who com-
the practice from any location. plete their own interpretations. Images are in a distinct worklist
In 2004, Radiology and Imaging Specialists deployed GE Health- and don’t cross-contaminate radiology workflow. “Everyone is
care Centricity RIS-IC, integrating the system with a third-party happy,” Marichal says. “The patient exam and report distribution
PACS. The transition to RIS-driven workflow reinvented the prac- are timely, which satisfies patients and referring physicians. And we
tice; it facilitates streamlined workflow for all users, which, in turn, know we will be paid. These aren’t mutually exclusive benefits.”
trims expenses and improves service.
From paper-driven to film-free via IT
“The patient exam and report Technology is the ticket to the transition from inefficient, paper-
heavy radiology to streamlined, digital workflow. Radiology and
distribution are timely, which Imaging Specialists invested heavily in technical infrastructure to
satisfies patients and referring support its RIS/PACS implementation.
Its sophisticated network infrastructure is built around a fiber
physicians. And we know optic network that connects all of the practice’s imaging centers.
we will be paid. These aren’t Recently, the practice upgraded from a VPN mesh to a hub and
spoke-straight VLAN configuration. The hefty network also sup-
mutually exclusive benefits.” plies bandwidth needed to share workload among radiologists.
David Marichal, COO CIO Because the web-based system provides consistent, universal access
Radiology and Imaging Specialists
across imaging centers and at radiologists’ homes, they can view
and share daily worklists to support every site.
The first step: workflow analysis Another critical component in the IT recipe is the workstation.
Radiology and Imaging Specialists was mired in inefficient workflow “It’s important to provide a positive experience for end-users. This
prior to installing Centricity RIS-IC; however, simply purchasing a requires workstations that meet RIS and PACS hardware require-
system does not guarantee optimal results. The practice deployed RIS ments,” explains Marichal. Radiology and imaging Specialists
and PACS concurrently and built its workflow around the synergy of opted for Windows-based PCs with 256 RAM. The practice also
the two systems, designating Centricity RIS as the workflow engine. redesigned its reading rooms to accommodate workflow.
The rationale behind RIS-driven rather than PACS-centric “The reading rooms are built around the electronic system, putting
workflow is simple. RIS begins and ends the work process. Radiol- everything we need at our hands,” explains Christian Schmitt, MD,
ogy workflow starts with scheduling and ends with billing; PACS informatics medical director. Reading room workstations have a four-
can not handle those tasks. RIS puts information in the hands of monitor configuration so clinical information from the RIS is easily
every decision-maker—from the radiologist to the scheduler and viewed and displayed in addition to the PACS viewing tools on the
the technologist, says Director of Informatics Sal Tejeda. other three monitors. Workstations are configured with 4 GB of RAM
Radiology and Imaging Specialists undertook a thorough workflow to accommodate any tools radiologists need to view data and images.
analysis prior to deployment, examining every step of every process of A final piece of the puzzle is a robust data center that can pass all
its business. One of the top complaints of employees? Paper and the data from one location to others. The 600-square-foot center
requisite paper shuffling in a non-automated practice. includes an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), backup battery,
Prior to the RIS/PACS deployment, scheduling and billing independent generator, climate control and fire suppression. The
required multiple phone calls and considerable paperwork. Both result is near-perfect uptime.
drained efficiency. In contrast, the ideal scheduling and insurance
workflows are based on solid, efficient processes that allow a prac- Inside the RIS-driven practice
tice to capture all necessary information for authorizations and RIS-driven radiology delivers a number of benefits: efficient, accu-
Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
9. rate billing, improved patient care and streamlined workflow. Prior oughly evaluated and tested workflows to maximize efficiencies
to RIS/PACS, Radiology and Imaging Specialists relied on paper with Centricity RIS-IC and offered a strong training program. The
billing. The practice was not sure it captured all charges because practice wrapped introductory training into a six-week simulation
the process hinged on paper. before going live with the system. The training included a post go-
Centricity RIS-IC, on the other hand, features an electronic live debriefing at the end of the first week, and the practice holds
charge interface. Coders vet items before they go to the billing staff refresher training at least once a year or after product
interface to simplify and accelerate the process. upgrades/updates.
Scheduling is equally efficient. With universal access to all sites and The center aims tap into RIS/PACS to raise the bar again. For exam-
imaging resources, schedulers can place patients in the first available ple, Radiology Imaging and Specialists intends to reward schedulers
slot. “That’s important because referring physicians want the first who meet established benchmarks, which requires metrics and a solid
available appointment, or they’ll take their business somewhere else,” RIS reporting system, says Marichal. Centricity fits the bill.
notes Marichal. The integrated, brokerless system also drives an intense
resource utilization program at Radiology Imaging and Specialists, in Reinventing the practice
which the practice analyzes how much of the time slot it uses for each Centricity RIS-IC has provided Radiology and Imaging Specialists
type of exam to optimize imaging resources. a means to reinvent its practice, improving workflow and patient
“Centricity RIS-IC helps track productivity from schedulers to care across the board. The imaging center group is completing
technologists,” notes Darla Mosley, applications manager. “We’ve more studies and turning them around in a shorter time frame
been able to determine how long a patient is in the office, how long with fewer staff. In other words, the practice has found the recipe
the exam takes, and then we can adjust our times accordingly, for success in 21st century imaging center business. ■
which helps with the schedule. We can accommodate more patients
than we did before.”
In addition, if the practice is backlogged in one area, it can shorten
exam time a bit. Finally, the system helped justify the RIS/PACS VIDEO
investment. Prior to RIS/PACS, Radiology Imaging and Specialists
staffed each center with six radiologists. Post-deployment center
staffing dropped to four radiologists. Ancillary staff has been reduced
approximately 10 percent through attrition. WITH QA
Optimized patient care
Automating processes to improve productivity and the bottom line
is essential in today’s tight economic environment; however, the
first priority in healthcare is patient care. Centricity RIS-IC helps
Radiology Imaging and Specialists meet it dual objectives by speed-
Featuring interviews and QA with
ing turnaround time and improving access to images. clinical and IT thoughtleaders from:
Consider for example oncology patients. Many travel to different United Memorial Medical Center
Radiology Imaging and Specialists sites for imaging studies. Cen- Batavia, N.Y.
tricity RIS-IC collects images from various sites, making them Radiology Imaging Specialists
available in a single application for review at cancer conferences. Lakeland, Fla.
“We can make decisions about the patient’s therapy based on ade- Cooper University Hospital
Camden, N.J.
quate and thorough information rather than one piece of informa-
tion or one study,” says Schmitt.
VIEW
An ongoing process ARCHIVE
RIS/PACS is not a project that begins and ends on certain dates. It
is an ongoing process that begins before deployment and, in an
ideal situation, continues after installation as the practice taps into
the system to derive new benefits.
Radiology Imaging and Specialists initiated its deployment with
an implementation team with broad membership including radi-
ologists, technologists, schedulers and IT staff. The team thor-
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations
10. case study: United Memorial Medical Center | Batavia, N.Y.
by Lisa Fr at t
[ Carol Vanderberg, specialist assistant in radiology, at
United Memorial Medical Center reviews CR-based digital
mammograms on the GE Healthcare Centricity RIS-IC that
links the healthcare organization’s five campuses. ]
RIS/PACS Propels the
Community Hospital
In some respects, United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) of Batavia, N.Y.,
is a typical community hospital. It is composed of five campuses including a
111-bed hospital and four imaging centers. The group completes 50,000
imaging studies annually. Imaging modalities include multidetector CT, CR-
based digital mammography, ultrasound, MRI, CR and digital fluoroscopy.
Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
11. A
s the only hospital in the county, UMMC analysis. “Our goal was to use technology to streamline activities,”
is somewhat challenged. For starters, it Ireland says. By strategically locating status boards within the
employs a single radiologist (supported by department and placing barcode scanners in radiology rooms,
a specialist assistant in radiology), which UMMC has slashed its paper consumption, replacing paper with
can make it difficult to manage imaging electronic data flow. The workflow analysis helped the hospital
volume, provide acceptable report turn- track pressure points to help it determine where to place PACS
around time and review the breadth of workstations. Wall-mounted units and mobile carts complement
modality procedures, especially subspe- fixed workstations to provide physicians access to images and lab
cialty and ER reads. Four external radiologists based in Buffalo, N.Y., results anywhere in the hospital, including at the patient bedside.
help manage the center’s daily workload, so robust digital image Centricity RIS-IC enables electronic billing, another critical work-
management processes are critical. Secondly, the metropolitan areas
of Rochester and Buffalo are within an hour’s drive; it’s important to
maintain high-quality local care to keep patients local. Advice from the Field
The organization’s decisions to deploy GE Centricity RIS-IC
Implementing RIS/PACS is a major undertaking
in 2001 and to pioneer PACS with integrated RIS and voice
particularly for smaller, community hospitals.
recognition in 2006 play a vital role in UMMC’s ability to
United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC)
provide optimal, local patient care. What’s more, workflow
in Batavia, N.Y., has optimized RIS/PACS to
and report turnaround time are significantly improved
improve service at all levels, slash paper and
with integrated RIS/PACS and RIS-driven workflow.
film use and grow its business. Its RIS/PACS
team offers some advice for colleagues
RIS rules
looking to purchase a system.
Centricity RIS-IC is the workhorse behind the smoothly
functioning radiology department at UMMC. The rationale ✓ Cost is a key focus, says Medical Imaging
[ Mary Niland, RIS/PACS Supervisor Lisa Foss, but it should be tempered.
behind the staggered, RIS-first deployment is quite simple. administrator, UMMC ]
The RIS provides a means to capture accurate information and “Everyone has to use the system. If it’s difficult to
use and navigate, price becomes much less relevant.”
populate the PACS, says Lisa Foss, medical imaging supervisor. An
interface with the HIS also facilitates patient processing and sched- ✓ Train, train, train. UMMC RIS/PACS Administrator Mary
uling. “RIS-driven workflow helps bring the patient through the Niland established training centers to educate staff and
department a lot smoother. Data like patient registration flows clinicians from various departments. She also visited
referring physicians’ offices to set up the system on their
from the HIS to the RIS, leading to fewer data entry errors and less
computers and complete one-on-one education. The efforts
manual work for technologists,” says RIS/PACS Administrator
helped persuade reluctant physicians to give up film.
Mary Niland.
Physicians, both referring doctors and radiologists, benefit, too. ✓ Tap into internal and external resources. Colleagues
The RIS centralizes all radiology reports and imaging files, provid- can provide a wealth of information on peripherals like CD
burners and modality integration. On the internal
ing streamlined access to reports and images for referring physi-
side, carefully track workflow of all film users to
cians. It also provides a line of communication between radiolo-
understand areas that can be improved by
gists and technologists, which boosts workflow. For example, the digital workflow.
radiologist can view images immediately after acquisition. If a
study requires additional views or a retake, the radiologist can relay
✓ Look at compatibility between the
HIS, RIS and PACS. The RIS and HIS
that information to the technologist—without leaving his chair or
must communicate effectively on a daily
breaking workflow. basis. A single vendor RIS/PACS reduces
Both parties in the image reporting equation—referring clini- integration challenges and streamlines
cian and radiologist—also gain from embedded voice recognition. the end-user experience. Think single
Prior to Centricity, UMMC used a third-party system that required password, single log-in.
an additional server, interface and HL7 message. The Centricity [ Darren Kazmierczak,
✓ Plan for site visits to see systems in action. director of radiology, UMMC ]
system streamlines management, says Niland, and allows the radi- Try to visit a facility of similar size and needs
ologist to manage reports from a single home page, which, in turn, as your own. It can be very helpful to arrange to visit sites
helps cut turnaround time. that use the same RIS and HIS as yours as well, says Darren
Dan Ireland, vice president of clinical support services, credits Kazmierczak, director of radiology.
the center’s workflow success story to a complete pre-RIS workflow
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations
12. flow booster. Prior to Centricity, UMMS used a courier service to review. Any discrepancies between the initial ER read and the radiol-
ship hundreds of billing reports to its billing company every day. ogist’s review required paper forms and phone calls. Now, images are
Now, reports are generated automatically within Centricity and sent shared electronically between the departments. If a radiologist finds
electronically to the billing company, saving the time and dollars a discrepancy, Centricity generates a note to inform the ER.
associated with the paper approach. In addition, bills can be gener-
ated more rapidly, which translates into accelerated collections.
Centricity RIS-IC provides other significant advantages, too.
The RIS incorporates data-mining capabilities, helping the medical
“Patients who come to
center optimize resources. For example, when evening technolo- the hospital for STAT work
gists complained about their workload and clamored for another
FTE, Foss ran a technologist productivity report for seven days. She
can wait in the waiting
found that volume was significantly higher during the 3 to 7 p.m. room because reports are
period. Instead of hiring an additional tech or authorizing over- completed so quickly. ”
time, Foss juggled the schedule to provide triple coverage during
the department’s busiest hours, saving the hospital critical dollars Lisa Foss, medical imaging supervisor, UMMC
and keeping hard-to-replace employees satisfied.
The workflow and data-mining benefits of Centricity RIS-IC and
PACS are ongoing, says Director of Radiology Darren Kazmierczak. “Our ER physicians are much more satisfied,” sums Ireland.
“We’re constantly reevaluating our workflow to see what we can “They can review images right in the ER, and they can share them
change efficiently, and it’s all based on having RIS/PACS.” with patients.” Centricity streamlines consults, making it easy for
physicians to transmit images to Buffalo hospitals for sub-specialty
Customer satisfaction review as needed.
Customer service can be a tall order, particularly in tight depart- The digital system also helps the hospital maintain a competitive
ments with a single radiologist. Centricity helps UMMC maximize edge with referring physicians, specifically by helping the hospital
its single radiologist and provide outstanding service to internal minimize report turnaround. Some primary-care physicians
and external customers. admitted to referring patients out of town in the center’s pre-RIS/
PACS days because it was difficult for the single radiologist to make
a timely diagnosis, says Ireland. Since Centricity, however, some
“Our ER physicians are much have returned to UMMC because the radiologist can return results
more satisfied [since we with an hour of the study. In fact, in the last year UMMC improved
added RIS/PACS]. They can on its 5 percent annual growth rate, achieving a phenomenal 19
percent growth. Ireland credits the growth to Centricity. “With
review images right in the RIS/PACS, we’re able to provide the level of service expected by our
ER, and they can share them primary-care physicians and patients.”
One patient group particularly satisfied with digital image man-
with patients.” agement model is STAT patients. “Patients who come to the hospi-
Dan Ireland, vice president of clinical support tal for STAT work can wait in the waiting room because reports are
services, UMMC
completed so quickly. The radiologist can call the referring physi-
cian with results to find out if the patient should go to the office, ER
Take for example the emergency department. ER physicians have or home. Patients aren’t driving home to find out they should
specific, critical needs—specifically rapid, accurate review. The hos- return to the hospital,” explains Foss.
pital runs weekly ER reports to monitor turnaround time. “When we
first implemented Centricity RIS-IC, we measured turnaround time A perfect fit
in hours. Now we measure it in minutes. We turnaround 68 percent Centricity RIS-IC is a perfect fit for UMMC. The community
of ER reports within 15 minutes,” Niland says. That rapid turn- medical center has achieved key goals since deploying the inte-
around helps physicians provide timely, informed patient care. grated system. Customer service is improved via rapid report
Another bugaboo in the conventional ER is discrepancy tracking. turnaround; business is booming and physicians, technologists,
Prior to RIS/PACS, UMMC relied on a manual process with the radi- and patients are satisfied. The system provides access to data,
ology department staff walking to the ER every morning to chase helping the center continue to improve services. Paper is gone,
films and bring them back to the department for the radiologist to and film consumption is negligible. ■
10 Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
13. by Lisa Fr at t
The Next-Generation ‘Smart’ Report
Standard voice recognition technology is far from cutting edge. In fact, voice ability to exchange data with other health-
recognition has existed in various forms since the 1960s; however, after 40 years care information systems. Radiologists,
on the market, healthcare has not tuned in to speech. In fact, fewer than half of however, tend to shun structured reporting
because it can be more time-consuming
all hospital specialties embrace voice recognition technology.
than free-form documentation. HL7 CDA
The mediocre adoption rate is some- workflow to make it available to the radi- provides a means to dictate in the way radi-
what paradoxical particularly in radiolo- ologist for the report. ologists prefer and produce a structured
gy as the report is the final product of the The enabling technology for the next- report that speaks the same language as
radiologist’s work and necessary for pay- generation solution is a structured docu- other healthcare information systems.
ment and clinical decision-making. One mentation process based on HL7 Clinical
reason behind the less-than-enthusiastic Data Architecture (CDA). The native HL7 Speech: The last word
acceptance of speech recognition is most CDA architecture combines and re-uses Speech is one of the next frontiers in radiol-
systems are add-ons to radiology work- data, allowing radiologists to spend less ogy workflow. Effective speech recognition
flow rather than an integrated part of the time working on reports while simultane- can help address the tough challenges in the
workflow process. ously producing a higher value document. radiology world by boosting productivity
GE Healthcare aims to re-draw the speech Advanced Speech Understanding bridg- and improving the final radiology product.
market by injecting new utility into voice es both flavors of traditional speech tech- Advanced Speech Understanding represents
recognition. The company is collaborating nology—free-form documentation and the evolution of speech recognition technol-
with M*Modal to develop a next-generation structured reporting. Structured reporting ogy. It will boost adoption and improve
natural language processing system. offers certain advantages, particularly the radiology workflow and products. ■
The evolutionary solution—Advanced
Speech Understanding—weds sophisticat- [ Advanced Speech Understanding is the next generation in speech—which automatically incorporates clinical data into
ed technology and workflows. The speech the reporting process. GE Healthcare is imbedding Centricity RIS-IC into its Speech Understanding from M*Modal. ]
engine is embedded in Centricity RIS to
make reporting part of the natural work-
flow. Advanced Speech Understanding
meets the dual challenges facing speech. It
makes speech an integral part of the radi-
ology workflow and capitalizes on the rich
patient data available at every step of the
radiology process.
Advanced Speech Understanding deliv-
ers added value by incorporating clinical
data into the reporting process to eliminate
duplicative processes. For example, during
the scheduling process the scheduler cap-
tures data like signs and symptoms. Such
data can be found at every step of the imag-
ing chain and is critical to the final radiol-
ogy report. Advanced Speech Understand-
ing pulls the data through the imaging
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations 11
14. by Beth Walsh
RIS in the Outpatient
Imaging Center Increasing Efficiency, Maximizing Revenue
With the economic challenges of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), marketplace
competition and the quest to streamline processes facing outpatient imaging
centers, anything that can help increase efficiency is more than welcome. A
good RIS helps centers track patients, physicians and revenue—while staying
on schedule and on budget. The right tools can even help organizations
determine when and where to expand their services.
12 Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
15. e set out to produce a RIS that Once the appointment can be confirmed with the office, the
increased the efficiencies and max- referring practice caller can get off the phone, which is appreciated.
imized revenue within the facility,” “Once the exam is scheduled, we collect authorization information
says Rhonda Eckstein, director, as needed,” Weathersbee says. The generic exams are created in the
Product Management, Dynamic RIS as a non-billable/non-reportable exam. “That keeps them from
Imaging Solutions, GE Healthcare going through the system by accident,” he explains. “They can’t
Integrated IT Solutions. reach the finalized signed state as a generic exam. The tech has to go
One way the RIS increases effi- in and do an Enter/Edit of the exam to make it a specific code that
ciencies is with key event monitoring. “That ensures that each step of makes the exam billable and reportable.”
the process is completed before the patient can move on to the next This process is a good example of Jefferson Radiology’s ability to
step,” she says. For example, before a patient is considered registered, the configure the RIS in a unique way that solved a business problem
system makes sure that all required information has been collected. and let the practice improve its customer service, Weathersbee says.
It also helped improve the practice’s revenue cycle. The protocoling
Relying on RIS worklists within the RIS allow proofing against the authorization
“We rely on the RIS very heavily,” says Mark Weathersbee, CIO at codes. “Through reports we can create in the RIS, we can make sure
Jefferson Radiology, a user of GE’s Centricity RIS-IC. we have the proper authorizations and we’re not performing exams
Jefferson uses Centricity RIS-IC for scheduling, creating call- for which we’re not going to get paid.”
back lists, arrival tracking, exam memos, communication between Jefferson recently acquired a practice with two locations, for a cur-
technologists and radiologists, and to help the group go to a paper- rent total of eight locations. Within the next few months, the two
less reading room.
[ Jefferson Radiology in West Hartford, Conn., manages radiology workflow
The paperless reading room was a new initiative last fall that for its eight locations—from scheduling through reporting and billing—via GE
Weathersbee says was primarily physician-driven. “They decided Healthcare’s Centricity RIS-IC. ]
on their own that they didn’t want to deal with so much paperwork,”
he says. The biggest obstacle to a paperless reading room was the
doctors having to manually input patient numbers rather than use
the bar-coded documents. Once the doctors adjusted to the new
process, it “really made the workflow go a lot easier and quicker.”
Electronic reports have been beneficial for referring physician
practices, says Weathersbee. About 60 percent of access to the online
reports and images is by the practices’ nurses, staff and support per-
sonnel. The ability to facilitate that access has improved Jefferson’s
position in the marketplace, he says.
To get the most out of its RIS, Jefferson customized it
in many ways, Weathersbee says. One way was schedul-
ing. “Schedulers need to have a lot of clinical data,” he
says. For example, does a particular CT exam need con-
trast? Frequently the schedulers would arrange one
study and then, at the time of the appointment, clini-
cians would make changes. “Based on information in
the medical record, the protocol was different,” Weath-
ersbee says. “It was a constant burden for schedulers.
The radiologists and technologists were always asking
why the schedulers couldn’t schedule the right exam.”
To combat the problem, the practice decided to go
with simple, generic scheduling that involves an exam
list for each organization, the modality code and the
body part code. The list is driven off of the CPT list,
but it’s generalized and allows schedulers to get the key
components of what the physician office wants to
know—location, date and time for the exam.
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations 13
16. new sites will be consolidated to one and a new facility will open in a reports we need to make sure we’re filling our schedule efficiently so
different area. The RIS helped the practice evaluate the overall vol- that our patients have the best possible access to our imaging ser-
umes for the modalities being implemented at those two additional vices.” Weekly, he can see how the organization is tracking toward
locations, Weathersbee says. “Data captured in the RIS was definitely volume and collection goals. Monthly, reports are produced to track
a decision point in deciding what to do with those two offices.” progress toward annual goals. “A systematic approach to reviewing
our performance data is very important to us,” he says. “It’s some-
[ Liberty Pacific Medical Imaging chose Centricity RIS/PACS-IW (formerly Dynamic
Imaging’s IntegradWeb RIS/PACS) when developing new imaging centers in Castro thing we really like about our RIS.” Another plus is that “it doesn’t
Valley, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio. Centricity RIS/PACS-IW includes a contract take a lot of manpower to produce that data.”
management module that incorporates complex logic to estimate net revenue
based upon payor use of DRA, HOPPS or both DRA and HOPPS fee schedules. The Those reporting abilities provide a “snapshot view of all key indi-
highlighted areas are calculated for each visit and enable centers to accurately cators,” says Eckstein. That includes volumes and revenues, out-
project the impact of DRA on their patient/payor mix versus budget. ]
standing accounts receivable and unbilled accounts. Users also can
monitor staff, physician referral patterns, unbilled accounts, and,
most importantly, medical reports—the final product. “A timely
interpretation is what the referring physicians are looking for,” she
says. “We have management reports that allow facilities to track
closely where those medical reports are.”
One element of the RIS is DRA Logic. For multiple, same-
day procedures, some insurance companies reduce the tech-
nical component by 25 percent. “We built that logic in,” says
Eckstein. Users only need to load their payer contract and
the system will automatically calculate the 75 percent reim-
bursement of the technical component and display expected
net revenue. Without that, users wouldn’t automatically
take such discounts into account and “have no way of know-
New RIS for new locations ing if they’re getting the correct payment.”
Liberty Pacific Medical Imaging To choose the best RIS for your organization, Draye says he
chose Centricity RIS/PACS-IW would “encourage someone to try and match their workflow
(formerly Dynamic Imaging’s IntegradWeb RIS/PACS) when with the RIS products they’re evaluating. They should imagine them-
developing new imaging centers in Castro Valley, Calif., and selves using that RIS and think about its features and the most
Columbus, Ohio, in the beginning of 2007, says CIO Anthony important aspects of their workflow and make sure the two are in
Draye. When developing new centers, the organization had to synch.” Because a RIS is not “one size fits all,” he says, “it requires lots
decide whether to continue with an under-performing, legacy RIS of effort to properly integrate a system into an organization’s work-
or employ a new RIS, according to Draye. They decided to look for flow. Choosing the right RIS is key to successfully achieving that.”
a new RIS. “Dynamic Imaging [which was acquired by GE late in
2007] had what we were looking for and having one vendor for both Coming soon…
RIS and PACS in the outpatient world adds efficiency.” GE has plenty of new features on the horizon for Centricity users.
Liberty Pacific appreciates that the Centricity product is a “very The company recently released its CPT level billing logic, Eckstein
modern and well-engineered software product.” Choosing RIS says. “Our collectors desktop work queues are in development, as
software that has a forward-thinking technology roadmap behind well as authorization alerts for those payors that require authoriza-
it gives imaging centers peace of mind that their systems will evolve tion before a study is performed.” The collectors desktop tool
with them. Using a product that is up-to-date with modern soft- involves user-specific worklists that will automatically display a
ware standards ensures that it is “future proof.” user’s accounts to be worked for follow-up based on system rules.
The billing capabilities of the RIS also appealed to Liberty Pacif- Aside from these kinds of tools, Eckstein says GE has kept the focus on
ic, Draye says. “In the current environment, billing is very impor- a user-friendly system. “We tried to remain consistent on all screens.
tant.” Plus, “we didn’t have to buy third-party software to do docu- Specific data fields always link the user to a specific place. We kept that
ment management or other specific functions. It’s all in this one consistency from screen to screen. That has made it very user-friendly.”
product. It’s a complete RIS.” With all of these considerations, Eckstein says the product “truly is an
Liberty Pacific probably gets the most bang for its RIS buck entire solution—with a single desktop, scheduling through, zero bal-
through the daily, weekly and monthly performance analysis con- ance, billing and collection system—that hopefully increases efficiencies
ducted through the system, Draye says. “The RIS produces the daily and facilitates maximum reimbursement. That’s what it’s all about.” ■
14 Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008
17. Blount Memorial Hospital | Maryville, Tenn. case study:
by Leslie K. Anderson
[ PACS administrators at Blount Memorial deployed super-users such
as this one as RIS/PACS training resources for the entire facility. ]
Ensuring Success
RIS/PACS Consultation Training
What happens between a facility and a technology vendor after they ink a contract the 305-bed community hospital in
can make the difference between success and failure in a RIS/PACS implementation. Maryville, Tenn.
Phil Berler provided management
Having just experienced the smooth “go-live” of their new integrated Centricity RIS/
consultation services from GE from
PACS from GE Healthcare, Blount Memorial Hospital radiology staff members know kick-off through post go-live. “Phil
firsthand the value of solid consulting and training services. knows the radiology business,” says
D. Charles Price, RN, Blount’s clinical
Kick-off to go-live analyst, project manager, information systems. “He managed a
With the flip of a switch on Sept. 10, 2007, Blount went live with radiology department for 17 years in New York City. He knows the
GE Centricity RIS-IC 10.5 and Centricity PACS 3.0.1 to manage systems from the technologist and management standpoint. For
the 120,000-plus imaging procedures the main hospital performs me, I was a staff nurse before I took the technology job and he
annually. As part of the contract with GE, Blount received an helped me to understand the process from a general standpoint. He
array of consulting and training services to help them maximize was always ready with an answer.”
benefits from the new system from the clinical, IT, management Berler, one of the seven-member team, spent several days onsite
and operations perspectives. It was evident that day that the RIS/ evaluating the workflow at Blount. “The first few times he watched
PACS consultation and training services from GE had paid off for flow in the department—beginning with admitting and scheduling,
HealthImaging.com Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations 15
18. Workflow analysis is a key
component to any successful Go-Live:
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
John Sundnas, RIS/PACS administrator for Dartmouth-
through obtaining images and archiving—he sat with various Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., has 25 years of
employees or stood in different areas of the department to watch how experience implementing and supporting pathology and
we did business,” says Price. “He was onsite at least five times, plus radiology clinical information systems, including successful
sent emails and conducted conference calls.” From there, Berler go-lives for GE Healthcare’s RIS and PACS.
drafted a future workflow report based on the current workflow. A key component to a successful go-live, says Sundnas,
is analyzing facility and patient workflow. Part of that
Under the looking glass involves including the entire facility in the workflow analysis
As an example, one of the problems Berler discovered was overbooking and documentation process.
and insufficient use of scheduling personnel. “Before we had only one According to Sundnas, Dartmouth-Hitchcock performed
person per modality doing scheduling at the front desk; now we have a workflow analysis to determine how film flowed among
three who can schedule [appointments] for all of the modalities,” says the center’s 400 healthcare providers and to find the best
John T. Cadieux, BS, RT (R), technical coordinator, radiology. The way to provide access to digital images. Sundnas says
scheduling change has allowed for more efficient use of the imaging that by using a recommended implementation plan from
equipment with less idle time for each system. “Phil helped us do away GE, they were able to create a workflow plan that they
with scheduling books and streamline patient throughput.” were able to alter and adjust as needed throughout the
Throughout the planning and testing process, Berler made sub- entire process.
sequent visits to see how Blount staff was doing with the changes in ✓ Analyze Document Facility Workflow
workflow and suggested adjustments as necessary. For a period, Spend time up-front to conduct a workflow analysis
both the old system and new system ran concurrently, followed by of all staff and their activities including schedulers,
a simulation where the new system was put through a dry run. technologists, residents, fellows and staff radiologists.
“During the planning phase, the team planned for a certain piece of Pay close attention to the image library to determine how
the implementation to go a certain way. But during the simulation, film flows to viewing workstations. Ask yourself: “where
we found out that process would not work in real-time. We had to were images being used, and how do we provide
look at the process again and make changes,” says Cadieux. filmless viewing at those stations?”
✓ Analyze Document Patient Imaging Workflow
Training musts Look at patient workflow in relation to imaging. Ask
Training was another key to RIS/PACS success. “GE had a ‘train the yourself: “If patients come in with their own films, are
trainer’ mentality,” he says. A master training program provided they leaving the office with their films?” If a film leaves the
special emphasis on creating super-users, who became the go-to office, how does film get back into the department to be
people onsite. Master-user training was very thorough, Cadieux interpreted by the radiologist?
says, including onsite training, online training using WebEx, and ✓ Involve Everyone to be Fully Vested in the System
training for both systems at GE training facilities. Sundnas says that by including multiple departments
Cadieux says he and PACS Administrator Mike Headrick, RT, and staff members in the workflow analysis prior
spoke with supervisors to decide who the super-users would be, ask- to go-live helps to vest everyone more fully in the
ing questions like: “Who can we trust to handle this responsibility? implementation. Get them involved by providing a weekly
Who is going to take on this responsibility and handle it well?” forum for them to express their concerns, give insight
Once chosen, super-users were trained on what was relevant to into their day-to-day activities to accept changes that
their jobs, Cadieux says. “We set up an intro class to the system, are coming and make the transition successful. Sundnas
began two- to three-hour training sessions a week later for three says they continue to hold weekly meetings within the
technologists and three schedulers at a time, and then did another department to share information and bring up concerns
training session one month before go-live.” Cadieux says that GE about the system and how it is working.
assisted with the initial super-user training session to ensure things
went smoothly. “After that, we and the super-users began training
the rest of the facility,” he says. Answering the call to action
“We hoped that the training would provide the super-users with a In January, the RIS/PACS and training was put to a big test. Blount
base of knowledge of what the system administrators do so that we experienced a “code blue” as the result of an ice storm in the area
would not be bombarded post go-live,” says Cadieux. “If there are only causing the emergency room to overflow. “If we hadn’t trained and
two people who know how to fix the problem, then you are going to be implemented the way we did, we would not have been able to handle
swamped. Having a super-user to handle the small things—such as the catastrophe,” says Cadieux. “We were able to get a lot of patients
patient exam merges—keeps workflow moving on my end.” through quickly. The GE RIS/PACS made it so smooth.” ■
16 Rethinking RIS: Strategies to Streamline Operations February 2008