Is it Time to Make Changes in Your Radiology Workflow?.

To get the best possible healthcare treatment, patients today seek out assistance from multiple providers. This requires each provider to gain access to the data they need to do their jobs, which has been a challenge when departments aren’t equipped with the right technology and the radiology workflow is affected.

For example, viewing images across disparate departments is often made difficult due to proprietary viewers. It’s not uncommon for one type of PACS to be incompatible with another type of PACS. This makes the radiology “handoff,” which is the transitioning of the patient and their information from the radiology department to other providers, challenging.

Transferring Data

Diagnostic and interventional radiology practices share a common challenge, which is medical errors occurring during handoffs. It’s these critical moments when determining protocols, taking imaging and interpreting it, and then the consultation process where these errors become apparent. It has been determined that the communication errors are in the top 5 in the list of situations where radiologists face litigation. Simply put, when a patient doesn’t get the care they need due to errors, someone is going to be held accountable.

Steps to Fewer Errors

Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City have come up with some tips for reducing errors during the patient handoff:

• Use Automation
  Bringing in automated technology helps to reduce the human error element. When you strengthen various organizational processes, such as scheduling, keeping track of exam orders and reporting, you reduce the possibility of error.
• Training
  A well-educated team is less prone to making mistakes. Train them on the most common errors, what they look like, how they’re made and how they can be avoided. Also, technology training will help them get the most out of your equipment.
• Workflow
  If you’ve spent any time analyzing workflow, you know everything goes much smoother when the team is well-coordinated. Everyone knows what to do and when to do it without getting in anyone else’s way.
  
  

The rate at which you can curb the errors and step up your performance will have an impact on overall patient care.

Partner with the Right Technology Provider

Cloud-based radiology solutions have really improved in the last several years. For radiology departments that haven’t taken advantage of cloud-based technologies, now is the time to do some research and see how you can reduce errors while improving your workflow process.

At OffSite Image Management, we’ve developed radiology solutions that take the pain points out of viewing images, accessing images and other patient data and making it available to all the patients’ specialists who rely on the information to care for the patient. Contact us and learn more about our approach to improving workflow.