Illinois Radiology Group Improves Physician Efficiency and Reduces
Duplicative and Unnecessary Incidentaloma Exams Through Access to
Previously Unavailable Priors
CHICAGO, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- RSNA Booth #5924 -- Compressus Inc.
and Advanced Radiology Consultants, S.C. (ARC), a 22 physician radiology
group in Illinois, announced today that ARC has improved physician
efficiency and patient safety, reduced unnecessary and duplicative tests,
and decreased diagnostic turnaround time by 600% through interoperability.
The announcement was made here at 93rd Scientific Assembly and Annual
Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), November
25-30, 2007.
Supporting 11 facilities with 22 board certified radiologists, ARC
reads and creates diagnostic reports for more than 300,000 medical imaging
exams a year. The interoperability implementation involved the installation
of a spectrum of Compressus' MEDxConnect System components, designed to
enable seamless integration of disparate information systems and provide
users the freedom to select best of breed PACS, HIS/RIS, EMS and CIS tools,
regardless of vendor.
"Physician efficiency and improved diagnostic turnaround is critical
not only to address the growing demand for imaging services, but also to
improve patient safety and outcomes. ARC recently completed the initial
implementation of the MEDxConnect Enterprise Systems Integration solution
from Compressus, designed to seamlessly connect all of our systems so we
can fully leverage physicians' subspecialty expertise and get the right
images to the right physician regardless of where they were generated or
where across our network the physician may be located," according to John
Anastos, MD, chairman of radiology at Advocate Lutheran Hospital and
president of ARC.
Phase one of the implementation supported Parkside Imaging, Parkside
MR, ARP Buffalo Grove and Oakmill Imaging. Results from the initial
implementation include:
Reduced Diagnostic Turnaround: use of the MEDxConnect System reduced
the turnaround time from when patient scans were acquired to when completed
reports were delivered to referring physicians from 18 hours to three -- a
600% improvement. Designed to efficiently manage the diagnostic
radiological services for clients from multiple referring organizations,
the MEDxConnect System implementation enables the ability to retrieve and
store diagnostic images on DICOM archives, the ability to manage activities
via a patient work list generated from multiple PACS or network systems,
and the ability to route images to participating physicians based upon any
combination of modality, body part, and/or referring physician. Finally, to
maximize productivity and reduce spikes in workload, physicians have the
ability to access patients work lists throughout the network.
Improved Access to Patient Information: 70% of all studies now have
priors automatically pre-fetched without staff involvement. The MEDxConnect
solution enables users to automatically pull all types of patient
information, including historical and demographic data, prior reports and
images, and physicians' notes from disparate information and imaging
systems, irrespective of vendor and distribute it to the appropriate
physicians in real-time. The result is a robust and cost-effective solution
that facilitates improved efficiency and improved patient care.
Improved Patient Safety: 20% of studies have additional priors and more
complete patient data as a result of automated pre-fetching. Many of these
studies may have been overlooked because the information systems did not or
could not associate the data with the patient. Improved access to this
information may significantly decrease duplicative or unnecessary exams due
to incidentalomas.
The MEDxConnect System acts as a communications hub, enabling various
PACS, HIS, RIS and other data information systems to connect and
communicate across the Enterprise. Utilizing HL7, DICOM, and other
standards, the System helps control the flow of images, reports, messages,
standard patient demographics and other important data for diagnosis and
treatment planning of a patient between otherwise independent and disparate
systems.
The integrated imaging and data management solution from Compressus is
designed to support a facility's current and expanded workload and provide
an infrastructure for sustained growth. Building the functionality required
for remote connectivity, the system enables users to access diagnostic
images and reports in the existing data stores at each facility, increasing
the level of medical care while reducing the associated costs.
According to Dr. Anastos, ARC plans to implement the MEDxConnect
solution throughout the entire ARC network based on results of the first
phase. "Until we completed phase one, we could only guess how dramatic the
results of true interoperability would really be. Not only are we
delivering more efficient care, but with improved access to patient
information and fewer handoffs, which can result in human error and
re-work, we are offering better, safer care to our patients," Dr. Anastos
added.
"Advanced Radiology Consultants are leading the way as medical imaging
continues to evolve from film to computer based reads and now to virtual
networks that connect across multiple sites and systems," said Janine
Broda, vice president and general manager for Compressus Medical Solutions
Division. "We are proud to work with ARC to pioneer true interoperability
and demonstrate that MEDxConnect delivers unprecedented connectivity in
real clinical environments, opening the door to more efficient and safer
patient care."
About Compressus Inc.
Compressus Inc. is a software development company offering robust,
proven solutions in the growing fields of medical imaging, telemedicine,
disaster preparedness and response, and biosurveillance. The company's
advanced data-compression and server technology enables the rapid
collection, storage, and secure transmission of large data sets, such as
detailed medical images, working interoperably with any existing or
emerging IT and telecom system. For more information, visit
http://www.compressus.com.
SOURCE Compressus Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.compressus.com
http://rsna2007.rsna.org/rsna2007/V2007/index.cvn
CONTACT:
Chris K. Joseph, +1-510-339-2293,
chris@ckjcomm.com, for Compressus Inc.
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