Advancing Healthcare

Alamance Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Burlington, NC, created a completely filmless PACS environment in 2006. In 2010, the production volume was up from 90,000 exams in 2006 to more than 150,000 exams per year. A project to address this growth was started.

“The biggest challenge of this project was how to improve on a system that worked already very well since 2006,” explained Chris DeAngelo, Director of Imaging Technology. “We needed more efficiency to increase our reading volumes with the same staffing. We also needed real-time measuring instruments to alert us on any events that could create productivity loss, even before that loss was occurring.” ARMC decided to implement the new Siemens syngo Portals after a thorough analysis of the required functionality.

ARMC needed two types of Portals: one to improve the productivity of the radiologists and technologists, and one to monitor and proactively manage department metrics and operations. With Portal Radiologist, relevant patient information and previous reports are presented on the radiologist’s reading workstation. Dr. Hector Cooper and Dr. Geoffrey Browne agree that the Portals allow them to increase efficiency and quality. Dr. Cooper says, “With this system I can also access our remote clinic facility just like I access the cases in the main campus, even from home.”

Dr. Browne states, “We increased our outreach to other hospitals and improved our service level to referring physicians. We increased our ER volume. I can go home and function as I was in the hospital. The Portal enables more productivity since all information is available at your fingertips.” Both Drs. Browne and Cooper confirm: virtual presence through the Internet is a major productivity factor.

“We are using web access throughout the Enterprise. Physicians in the various hospital departments and in outside locations have tablet PC’s with thin client software to view patient images and reports. In physicians’ offices, the nurse creates a worklist and pulls all the images for the day. When the physician meets the patient, the images are already available and neatly organized on the display,” says Chris DeAngelo. This is also very valuable for the Oncology conferences, enabling all the specialties involved to discuss the patient’s condition, progress, and future treatment.

Top class management requires operational transparency. That’s where syngo Portal Executive, a business intelligence solution, comes in. The role-based syngo Portal Executive enables objective measurement of productivity and quality parameters. Tracking trends, this solution supports executive decision-making, leading to higher patient and referring physician satisfaction through better strategic and business planning.

Preston Hammock, VP of Operations, is involved in strategic planning, business development, forecasting, budgeting, and licensing. He is a facilitator of discussions and encourager of accountability. “My role is to take decisions and translate them to the stakeholders. syngo Portal Executive offers Chris DeAngelo and I complete transparency on the key performance indicators,” he says.

“Both Siemens and ARMC teams work in synergy,” says Dr. Browne. “I consider this cooperative model instrumental in achieving success and excellence.”

For more information: www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare