Marion General Hospital
Courtesy: MSKTD & Associates, Inc.
Courtesy: MSKTD & Associates, Inc.
Indiana hospital implements enterprise imaging platform
May 23, 2017
By John Wiggins
Today’s competitive environment requires a fully featured imaging IT architecture that delivers comprehensive diagnostic capabilities and can consolidate specialized or standalone modalities into an integrated platform.
We made the decision to convert from a traditional PACS with multiple independent modality viewing stations to an enterprise imaging platform that links previously disparate modalities and workflows. This system includes advanced diagnostic capabilities that can enhance accuracy and productivity — and is accessible by clicking a link in our EMR system.
Radiologists and specialists can customize templates to increase reading efficiency and effectiveness. These personalized templates automatically launch when the user signs onto the system. Radiologists now produce content-rich reports with key images, tumor tracking and measurements that offer greater clinical value to referring physicians. And our voice recognition is also significantly improved.
The enterprise imaging platform is seamlessly linked with our EMR so users can click on the report tab to see current and past imaging studies. This is a dramatic improvement over our previous process that required logging into multiple applications. An icon automatically launches the universal viewer that allows onsite or offsite users to view the study on mobile devices as well as workstations.
In the past, dedicated workstations with separate workflows were used to read PET and mammography exams. Our previous PET workstation did not provide tumor measurement or tracking over time, but now automated tumor tracking is presented through graphs and numbers to show improvement or worsening, while analysis software displays the tumor’s response to chemotherapy. We also eliminated our standalone mammography workstation and integrated this modality into our workflow, so mammography exams can be read at multiple locations.
Reading of ultrasound exams has considerably improved with the ability of measurements to automatically populate in the report. Previously, radiologists had to retrieve ultrasound measurement data from imaging systems and dictate measurements into the report. The new workflow is not only faster, it also reduces the possibility for error.
A universal viewer now allows more than 100 onsite and offsite referring physicians to access patient reports and images on FDA-approved mobile devices using a zero footprint application. With a click of the mouse, a physician can launch the viewer, which displays a patient’s clinical history including 2-D images along with motion playback options for catheterization and echocardiography imaging exams.
Physicians use the viewer to access reports and images from a variety of browsers and device platforms including tablets and laptops. This equips them to review patient information during hospital visits or from remote locations — quickly and securely. It enables timely treatment decisions and allows physicians to display and discuss diagnostic images during patient consultations.
As part of this conversion, we transitioned from a RIS-driven workflow to a PACS-driven workflow and replaced a proprietary archive with a vendor-neutral archive. We migrated two years of radiology PACS data for the launch of the new platform and then integrated catheterization studies from a separate archive. We also plan to migrate echocardiography studies into the enterprise imaging platform.
A virtualized architecture with blade servers delivers greater scalability and redundancy while lowering data center costs and enhancing performance. It also provides a production and backup system in two different locations to deliver redundancy and disaster recovery.
In the past many hospitals, including ours, opted to install best-of-breed solutions from multiple suppliers. We discovered that linking disparate systems involves complex interfaces and integrations that increase costs. As we planned this conversion, our team decided to find one supplier that offered excellence in enterprise image management, voice recognition and workstation features, as well as archiving and image sharing with onsite and offsite providers. Our evaluation team included the hospital’s IT staff, radiology management and key technologists as well as the radiology group that serves our patients.
We viewed onsite demonstrations from eight vendors over a six-month period and rated each supplier’s capabilities in each area. In the end, our team unanimously selected one vendor.
We are proud of the advantages we achieved through these upgrades that include:
• Enhanced diagnostic tools, including advanced visualization tools for radiologists;
• A universal viewer that delivers secure access to imaging studies and reports on physicians’ mobile devices;
• Upgraded diagnostic workstation hardware that allows radiologists to read more efficiently and deliver faster response times — which can enable timely diagnosis and treatment for patients;
• An enterprise imaging architecture that delivers excellent scalability and redundancy while enhancing performance and lowering costs.
About the author: John Wiggins is the IT technical services manager at Marion General Hospital in Marion, Ind.
Today’s competitive environment requires a fully featured imaging IT architecture that delivers comprehensive diagnostic capabilities and can consolidate specialized or standalone modalities into an integrated platform.
We made the decision to convert from a traditional PACS with multiple independent modality viewing stations to an enterprise imaging platform that links previously disparate modalities and workflows. This system includes advanced diagnostic capabilities that can enhance accuracy and productivity — and is accessible by clicking a link in our EMR system.
Radiologists and specialists can customize templates to increase reading efficiency and effectiveness. These personalized templates automatically launch when the user signs onto the system. Radiologists now produce content-rich reports with key images, tumor tracking and measurements that offer greater clinical value to referring physicians. And our voice recognition is also significantly improved.
The enterprise imaging platform is seamlessly linked with our EMR so users can click on the report tab to see current and past imaging studies. This is a dramatic improvement over our previous process that required logging into multiple applications. An icon automatically launches the universal viewer that allows onsite or offsite users to view the study on mobile devices as well as workstations.
In the past, dedicated workstations with separate workflows were used to read PET and mammography exams. Our previous PET workstation did not provide tumor measurement or tracking over time, but now automated tumor tracking is presented through graphs and numbers to show improvement or worsening, while analysis software displays the tumor’s response to chemotherapy. We also eliminated our standalone mammography workstation and integrated this modality into our workflow, so mammography exams can be read at multiple locations.
Reading of ultrasound exams has considerably improved with the ability of measurements to automatically populate in the report. Previously, radiologists had to retrieve ultrasound measurement data from imaging systems and dictate measurements into the report. The new workflow is not only faster, it also reduces the possibility for error.
A universal viewer now allows more than 100 onsite and offsite referring physicians to access patient reports and images on FDA-approved mobile devices using a zero footprint application. With a click of the mouse, a physician can launch the viewer, which displays a patient’s clinical history including 2-D images along with motion playback options for catheterization and echocardiography imaging exams.
Physicians use the viewer to access reports and images from a variety of browsers and device platforms including tablets and laptops. This equips them to review patient information during hospital visits or from remote locations — quickly and securely. It enables timely treatment decisions and allows physicians to display and discuss diagnostic images during patient consultations.
As part of this conversion, we transitioned from a RIS-driven workflow to a PACS-driven workflow and replaced a proprietary archive with a vendor-neutral archive. We migrated two years of radiology PACS data for the launch of the new platform and then integrated catheterization studies from a separate archive. We also plan to migrate echocardiography studies into the enterprise imaging platform.
A virtualized architecture with blade servers delivers greater scalability and redundancy while lowering data center costs and enhancing performance. It also provides a production and backup system in two different locations to deliver redundancy and disaster recovery.
In the past many hospitals, including ours, opted to install best-of-breed solutions from multiple suppliers. We discovered that linking disparate systems involves complex interfaces and integrations that increase costs. As we planned this conversion, our team decided to find one supplier that offered excellence in enterprise image management, voice recognition and workstation features, as well as archiving and image sharing with onsite and offsite providers. Our evaluation team included the hospital’s IT staff, radiology management and key technologists as well as the radiology group that serves our patients.
We viewed onsite demonstrations from eight vendors over a six-month period and rated each supplier’s capabilities in each area. In the end, our team unanimously selected one vendor.
We are proud of the advantages we achieved through these upgrades that include:
• Enhanced diagnostic tools, including advanced visualization tools for radiologists;
• A universal viewer that delivers secure access to imaging studies and reports on physicians’ mobile devices;
• Upgraded diagnostic workstation hardware that allows radiologists to read more efficiently and deliver faster response times — which can enable timely diagnosis and treatment for patients;
• An enterprise imaging architecture that delivers excellent scalability and redundancy while enhancing performance and lowering costs.
About the author: John Wiggins is the IT technical services manager at Marion General Hospital in Marion, Ind.