From patients missing exams to image viewing roadblocks, many issues get in the way of what would be considered a smooth radiology workflow. If your facility is growing, the increase in patients means efficiency is more important than ever. Your radiology department is under constant pressure to improve your level of service without resulting in burnout for your team.
Using Informatics
As IT gets more involved in finding radiology workflow strategies, there is a call for putting more focus on imaging informatics and data science. Strong imaging informatics can help facilities gain an advantage over their competition in the best scenarios. Informatics is more valuable than ever due to a number of reasons, including the increased usage of cloud-based radiology solutions, hardware and software services that are outsourced, the use of mobile devices and of course, the big data explosion.
EHR Advantages
What has become a tried-and-true method of improving radiology workflow is integrating an electronic health record-based patient coverage database. Rather than making the practice of getting in touch with doctors for patient imaging a time-consuming ordeal, bringing in an electronic health record-based patient coverage database removes all the typical obstacles to efficient communication. It also presents an easier, more efficient means of getting the data you need into your EHR.
Cloud PACS to the Rescue
Moving to a cloud PACS solution delivers immediate improvement to your workflow. When you partner with the right vendor, and particularly one that bases their PACS solutions on the latest DICOM standards, you get easy access to patient exams and data any time you need it. A big perk with this method is that you can also view images on just about any device, which means you’re not tied to a proprietary viewer.
Choose the Right Vendor
You have existing technology that you’ll want to keep as you invest in new solutions, which requires you to work with a vendor that can implement solutions that integrate well with your core infrastructure. You’ll also want to choose a vendor that has more than just one or two radiology solutions.
For example, some of the best and most trusted vendors will offer HL7 interfaces, modality worklist, DICOM manipulation, DICOM reader, DICOM migration, vendor-neutral archive capabilities and an image exchange.
At OffSite Image Management, we can meet your specific needs, including telehealth technology such as TeleRAD360, a teleradiology solution that brings imaging exam control back to the hospitals. Contact us today and find out more about how we can improve your radiology workflow.
