Big Solution for a Small Hospital

PACS:
Big Solution for a Small Hospital
Nuvodia Case Study
www.nuvodia.com
Chestatee Regional Hospital is a 49-bed facility in
Dahlonega, Georgia. Located one hour north of Atlanta,
Chestatee is the only critical access hospital in its primary
service area, serving more than 62,000 residents in
Lumpkin and Dawson counties in Georgia.
THE CHALLENGE
As a small rural hospital located 45 minutes outside of Atlanta,
Chestatee Regional Hospital faced two major challenges in its
diagnostic imaging department that directly affected the quality and
delivery of patient care, including:
• Limited access to images: With
only one on-staff radiologist, the
facility did not have a radiologist
onsite around-the-clock.
Because all images were on film,
the hospital’s sole radiologist
was often required to return to
the hospital after hours to read
images. Or, image interpretation
was delayed until the next day
or longer. The film could be
manually digitized and sent
electronically to the radiologist
at his home, but digitizing was an expensive, inconvenient process,
and not feasible in most cases.
• No IT resources: In 2004, the hospital recognized a need to
transition from film to an electronic imaging system. However,
the small facility did not have the IT staff nor the budget for the
expensive equipment, infrastructure, and ongoing support required
to install and internally operate a quality Picture Archiving and
Communication System (PACS).
2
PACS: Big Solution for a Small Hospital
SOLUTION
In 2005, after evaluating several options, Chestatee Regional
Hospital entered into a partnership with Nuvodia. Laurie Davis,
Chestatee’s director of radiology services, said Nuvodia and its
Philips “Best in Klas” PACS solution addressed the hospital’s imaging
challenges with:
• Affordable pricing. “Nuvodia’s fee-per-study delivery model made
it possible for even a small hospital like ours to benefit from the
industry’s best PACS.”
• Excellent project management. “Our project manager was a great
project director. He kept everyone on task and informed. If there
were issues, he addressed them immediately. I can’t say enough
about his organizational skills…he made everything go smoothly.
He held our hand through whole thing.”
• Exceptional help desk support: “We didn’t have a PACS
administrator here in the hospital, nor the budget to hire one.
Nuvodia gave us the 24x7 technical support and deep knowledge
we needed to implement the system and keep it running
smoothly.”
3
PACS: Big Solution for a Small Hospital
THE RESULT
Davis said Chestatee’s
experience with Nuvodia has
been “very positive…a 10 on a
scale from 1 to 10.” Over the last
decade, Nuvodia and its medical
imaging solutions have helped
the hospital:
• Improve workflow. “PACS itself completely revolutionized our
workflow. It has made everything a lot easier. No more paperwork.
No more running films. No more processing issues.
»» With PACS’ integration into Chestatee’s electronic medical
records, imaging reports flow seamlessly into a patient’s record.
Treating physicians have instant access to the information they
need for patient care.
»» The system has dramatically improved efficiencies in
Chestatee’s imaging center, resulting in much shorter wait
times, same-day results, and faster delivery of patient care.
• Achieve faster turnaround times. “Most images are read within the
hour. That would have been unheard of 10 years ago.”
»» With PACS, the Chestatee imaging center can easily and
quickly share images with the interpreting radiologist, even
when he’s offsite.
• Increase collaboration with specialists. “Even though we’re a small
facility, PACS makes it possible to seek the expertise of physicians
in larger markets.”
»» Chestatee’s physicians can collaborate with specialists via
telemedicine and electronically share patient images in realtime.
4
PACS: Big Solution for a Small Hospital
Formed in 2012 by Inland Imaging, one of the nation’s leading
providers of professional radiology and medical technology services,
Nuvodia is a technology services organization. By combining the
capabilities, resources and personnel from Inland Imaging Business
Associates technology division Nuvodia brings with it a decades’ long
legacy of providing information technology services to the health
care, utility and professional services industries. Nuvodia’s mission
is to provide its clients with IT solutions that propel their businesses
forward. It looks to enable customers’ organizational excellence
through innovative, results-oriented technology solutions.
To learn more about Nuvodia, contact:
Andrew Spottswood, Sr. Technology Consultant
P: 206.326.6589 | C: 425.516.5641
[email protected]
You can also visit Nuvodia.com or connect with us via LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter.
Nuvodia case studies are made available for educational purposes only to give
you general information and understanding of IT issues. By reading our case
studies, you understand that there is no client relationship between you and
Nuvodia. Although this case study is intended to be current and accurate, the
information presented may be changed, improved or updated without notice.
Nuvodia is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the content of this
case study or for damages arising from the use of this information under any
circumstances. We encourage you to contact us for specific advice regarding
your particular circumstances and IT environment.
5
PACS: Big Solution for a Small Hospital