Catholic Health East
Best Practice Narrative RHC: Mercy Health System (South Eastern
Pennsylvania)
One Bala Plaza, Suite 402
Bala Cynwyd
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Category:
New Diagnostic & Treatment Technology Contact: Jim Beinlich
Title:
E-mail:
Fax:
Phone: (610) 237-4029
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Description of the Best Practice: Radiology Imaging
In 1997, Mercy Health System (MHS) identified a need to significantly enhance
the capabilities of radiology imaging and reduce costs for radiology films.
Additionally, the organization wanted to identify tools that would allow
consolidation of radiology physician services while expanding in clinical
settings throughout the service areas. Implementation of the SMS medical image
management and optical disk storage technologies in the Radiology and Emergency
Department areas were identified to reduce the cost of storing and retrieving
film and paper documents. Implementation
A project team of radiology and information technology staff was formed to
begin implementation of the SMS Medical Imaging System late in 1997. The
project was split into phases with Phase One focusing on the Mercy Fitzgerald
campus in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and the Emergency Room.
Currently, the MICU is live, and the ER is expected to go live in July 1998.
Since the acute facilities represent the greatest volume and opportunity for
cost savings, MHS is focusing 1998 on implementation at the three acute
facilities: Mercy Fitzgerald, Mercy Philadelphia, and Mercy Community. It is
expected the system will be extended to clinics, nursing homes, and physician
office during the first half of 1999.
Time Frame
Implementation of the three acute facilities as outlined above will encompass
1998, with implementation expected at satellite facilities, nursing homes, and
physician locations in 1999.
Financial Profile
Significant demand is generating in the marketplace for reducing costs and
improving the quality of delivering patient care. Several local health systems
have variations of medical imaging (HUP, Jefferson, AHERF), but not to the
extent that Mercy is planning to utilize throughout the acute and ambulatory
environment. Most experts agree that decreasing labor costs - not film savings
- will be the biggest cost justification for medical imaging systems. The
greatest impact of this technology will not occur in radiology, but for
referring physicians, nurses, other health care practitioners, and ultimately
patients.
The capital equipment is projected to be $2.1 million with a return on
investment over 3 years developed mostly from film cost savings. Decreasing
labor costs are also expected, but were not factored into the return on
investment.
Outcome
While in the initial implementation of medical imaging, consolidation of
radiology operations will require a great deal of interaction and sharing of
data among all points of the patients' continuum of care. Medical image
management enables instant and simultaneous access to patient information. As
Mercy moves more and more towards being an integrated delivery network,
technologies such as this will enable the reality of a truly integrated system.
The image management system can easily be expanded to incorporate the
implementation of telemedicine and teleradiology, technologies which clearly
fit into strategic plans of expanding the Mercy mission to communities where it
may be difficult or impossible to place highly specialized staff all the time.
Best Practice Narrative is limited to a one page summary.
Supporting data is limited to one page.
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