Case Study: Caldwell Medical Center

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When their current system became unreliable, Caldwell Medical Center began looking for a user-friendly, efficient system that would provide a seamless workflow. Caldwell found this when they implemented the Avreo interVIEW solution. interVIEW’s built-in dictation, transcription, electronic signature, and report distribution capabilities provided Caldwell Medical Center with the tools they needed to accomplish their goal of bringing a seamless workflow to their facility using a single software application.

Getting to Know Caldwell Medical Center

Caldwell Medical Center is a well-respected practice providing quality healthcare services to the Princeton, KY community and surrounding areas since 1951. These services include CT, digital x-ray, mammography, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound. The staff consists of a group of experienced, compassionate professionals whose main goal is to create a pleasant and comfortable visit for every patient.

After using the RAYPAX system for approximately five years, Caldwell felt it was time to evaluate new technology that could provide better results for their expanding facility. The hospital staff had difficulty accessing support for the current system, storage was limited, and the physicians had issues viewing CDs. For this reason, Caldwell began looking for a replacement system that would better suit their needs.

Choosing a Replacement

Sandy Stephens, Imaging Director at Caldwell Medical Center, knew that her facility was in need of a new RIS/PACS solution. This new solution needed to be:

• user-friendly
• easy to learn and understand
• a system that included top of the line support
• a system that would be easy for the referring physicians as well as physicians onsite and their staff to navigate

Most importantly, Caldwell needed a system that would interface with their existing Healthland Hospital Information System (HIS). In the past, Sandy had struggled to find a perfect fit for the hospital’s HIS and was determined to find a product that would meet her facility’s needs.

After speaking with Radiology Services, whom Caldwell has a previous relationship with, Sandy felt the Avreo solution fit Caldwell’s needs because it offered:

• an all-inclusive system, combining RIS, transcription, and scheduling into a single application
• an application appearance that was much more uniform than others she had considered
• referring physicians have the ability to view images during the approval process using Avreo’s Master Folder feature
• easy integration with their existing HIS system
• a zero-impact installation that did not require an Active X component which would have prevented ordering physicians from easily viewing images
• workflow analytics reporting
• competitive pricing

Caldwell Medical Center chose the Avreo interVIEW ASP solution, which uses non-proprietary, standards-based communication to seamlessly integrate with the facility’s current environment. Not only could the interVIEW product integrate successfully with Caldwell’s HIS, it also allowed Sandy to stay within the hospital’s budget. Because interVIEW is a single database, single application system, this minimizes the cost of hardware and development services.

Workflow Improvements

Caldwell maximized the effectiveness of the interVIEW product by designing their workflow to reduce report turnaround time. Workflow improvements focused on physician ordering, automatic distribution of diagnostic reports via fax, email, or network printer, and access to reports and images via the web. When a patient needs to be seen for a radiology procedure, the ordering physician schedules the patient in the Healthland HIS, which generates an order and automatically creates a unique number to identify the patient.

The patient’s number and order information are then sent from Healthland to Avreo interVIEW using an HL7 interface. This process places the order and patient demographic information on the technologist’s worklist prior to the exam. When necessary, the technologist can scan and attach any previous reports to the current order in the Avreo system before the patient arrives.

When a patient arrives for a procedure, the scheduler Arrives the patient in the Avreo system and makes a phone call to alert the technician that the patient is ready to be seen. After performing the procedure, the technologist completes the order in the Avreo system and enters any notes for the radiologist. Completing the order automatically moves the study to the worklist notifying him the order is ready to be reviewed.

The radiologist uses Avreo’s digital dictation component to dictate reports. A transcriptionist transcribes the dictations in the Avreo system, then the radiologist reviews and electronically signs the transcribed report. Once the report has been signed, interVIEW automatically faxes the report to the ordering physician. The signed report is also automatically sent to the HIS with a status of final.

With only one radiologist in a facility that performs roughly 15,000 studies annually, Caldwell was looking for a way to reduce report turnaround time. Avreo’s interVIEW solution was the answer. With interVIEW’s auto-fax component, Caldwell’s radiologist can send signed reports to the ordering physician automatically upon completion. This new workflow increased efficiency by substantially decreasing report turnaround time by 30 minutes to 2 hours—a huge improvement.

How Can Avreo Help Your Healthcare Organization?

Would you like to learn more about how Avreo can help your healthcare organization achieve its goals?  Request a free personal demonstration with an Avreo Clinical Applications Specialist.