FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RIS Provides Complete Diagnostic Imaging Business Management

Sugar Land, Texas (PRWEB) April 6, 2004 – The benefits of Radiology Information Systems (RIS) are now affordable for smaller hospitals, imaging centers, and radiology call centers. A proven, mature system now delivers the sophisticated features available in more costly solutions with the flexibility required by smaller facilities. Well suited to facilities with limited computer staff, RIS can be installed on a remote basis with little or no local equipment required.

In a small town 40 miles from the imaging center, a family doctor checks his patient’s images from a magnetic resonance (MR) study of the neck that was completed 3 minutes ago. Before the installation of the new system, he waited 2-3 days for films to be delivered. Today, if there is a problem with the study, he can call the technologist and discuss the study before the patient gets up from the table. In the doctor’s office, his office manager schedules 3 more studies over the Internet in 2 minutes, easily reviewing the schedule and selecting available times when the patient can be there. The fact that the ultrasound technologist has to attend a PTA meeting at 3:30 this afternoon is displayed on the schedule and presents no conflict.

In a major hospital 65 miles from the imaging center, a skilled radiologist opens the same study and immediately sees 5 prior studies done on the same patient over the last 4 years. He reviews the last study and then compares the growth of a small tumor in the patient’s spine. From the prior studies, it is evident that the size of the tumor is of concern and the growth rate will require that something be done within the next few months. The radiologist selects a report template, attaches key images to the report, dictates an extra paragraph and begins his next study in less than one minute. In Boston, a transcriptionist opens the study and uses foot pedals to listen to the dictation while typing the text into the report. About 40 minutes later, the radiologist reviews the transcribed text and marks the report as final. A signed radiology report discharges from the family doctor’s fax machine 30 seconds later.

In the imaging center, the computed tomography (CT) technologist sits down in front of the control console. With a single command, she loads all the patient information for today’s studies: name, ID, age, sex, address and any special instructions required for each study. On a computer to her left, she sees that the first two patients are in the waiting room. Looking again to the computer screen on her left, the technologist confirms that Mr. Johnson was called yesterday and reminded of his appointment and the special instructions required for his exam. She calls in the patient and begins reviewing the procedure. A week before his exams were scheduled, Mr. Johnson received a written notice that describes the procedure, how it will be done, and any special instructions. He confirms that he followed the instructions and has not eaten anything since midnight last night. Less than 30 seconds after the exam is completed, the images are available to the radiologist and referring physician while the billing system begins to electronically process the claim for payment by the insurance company.

Ms. Smith’s mammogram is complete. She received an automatically generated letter last week saying she needs another exam and scheduled her study today. In 20 minutes after she arrived, the study is finished and she is now on her way to her car. Before leaving, she checks in with the discharge desk. The office manager pulls up her patient eligibility and payment history in real time, finds that her secondary insurance has lapsed and that her co-payment for her last study was incorrect. She explains to Ms. Smith that her last insurance payment was adjusted and asks for a check for today’s co-payment and the outstanding balance for her last exam.

In the reception office, the receptionist quickly scans the written diagnostic orders from the doctor, two laboratory reports and a radiology report for a new patient and sends the document images to archival. After entering the patient’s information, she checks Medicare payment eligibility and verifies that the patient is a Medicare recipient, the requested study can be compensated by Medicare and the patient must make a $20.00 co-payment. The new patient medical record is immediately transmitted to scheduling, the X-Ray department and billing without ever re-tying the patient information. Since patient information is keyed in only once, the billing department no longer spends days chasing down orphaned records where the patient name is misspelled and Medicare payments have not been received for months.

In the billing office, the complexities of primary, secondary and tertiary insurance coverage with varying levels of co-payments are handled automatically. Each transaction is recorded and reported as most insurance company claims are submitted, tracked and received electronically. Last year, these functions were handled by a large billing company that took a percentage of each claim with a total cost over $225,000.00. This year, all those functions have been moved in-house while the required billing staff was reduced. The net savings were more than the payments made to the billing company last year.

In South Florida, the business manager for a large physician group checks the status of the 5 imaging centers they own in Oklahoma. Running a few custom reports, he quickly sees that 2 of the centers are operating well above average and the number of exams in 1 of the centers have dropped off sharply. The managers for the above average centers both get emails thanking them for their good work and reminding them that their annual bonus should be impressive. The manager for the problem center gets a phone call inquiring about the drop in productivity. He will make his 11:30 tee time without a problem.

In South Texas, just outside of Houston, a systems engineer finishes checking the tape backups for his servers then studies and approves changes made to the disaster recovery program for the network head end. His manager never stops repeating the phrase “What happens if the creek rises?” It sounds silly until he remembers that a small tropical storm in Houston became the most destructive storm in US history by flooding major hospitals, some as high as the third floor, and destroying years of critical patient and research data. With all the systems and data for many hospitals and imaging centers stored and maintained here, the disaster recovery program is taken as seriously as security.

The dream of an efficiency engineer on steroids? Hardly. This is the daily business of an imaging center using a remote radiology information system (RIS) integrated with a remote picture archival system (PACS). The intimate coordination of hundreds of individuals moving in thousands of different directions at different times is the job of a sophisticated software system located in a remote city. Each of the players accesses the system using a secure connection over the Internet while each of the sub-systems is connected using an encrypted virtual network that also operates over the Internet.

Michael Miner is VP Operations for Miner Miracles LTD, a leader in the growing field of digital imaging management. “We specialize in the science of managing digital imaging facilities. The RIS manages all aspects of workflow, from scheduling to billing. The PACS system manages all aspects of digital image handling - transmission, display, manipulation, archival and retrieval. Working together, RIS/PACS provides a complete management solution for modern diagnostic facilities.”

“While the large diagnostic centers with hundreds of employees are far from dead, we do see a trend in diagnostic imaging towards diversification. Many of the more astute investors want to limit their capabilities to the installation of more profitable technologies, such as magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT). They may offer technologies such as X-Ray or mammography to make the center more attractive to a wider range of patients, but these services are typically not profitable.”

“Smaller imaging centers bring a very different set of demands based on a lower economy of scale. While the diagnostic and management employees are usually some of the best, many of the support and overhead functions are reduced. Computer support staff is often one of the luxuries that suffer in a smaller environment. The result is a hesitance to install sophisticated servers, terabyte archival systems, tape backup systems and other disaster recovery needs.”

“We provide the ability to offer sophisticated systems, such as RIS/PACS, without the need to install these systems locally. Offering local installation is, of course, part of our business, but we see an increasing number of clients who realize that they do not want to be in the systems maintenance business. Installing these services at a central location allows us to provide the best in systems operation, security, disaster recovery and regulations compliance at a very reasonable price.”

Miner points to the payout for such installations as very attractive. “Creating radiology films is expensive when you consider all the materials, manpower and facilities costs. Providing digital archival (PACS) in place of films usually pays out in 9-10 months of operation. Contracting your claims billing to a remote company is also expensive and requires more manpower to manage effectively. Bringing these functions in-house with an RIS system gives you better control over your business, reduces manpower requirements, and also pays out in roughly 9-10 months of operation. Since we also work with financing companies, payout is a critical indicator for both us and our clients.”

Additional information and questionnaires can be found at http://www.minermiraclesltd.com/

About Miner Miracles LTD
MML supplies turnkey digital diagnostic imaging management: teleradiology, RIS integration, digitizers, diagnostic workstations, PACS and VPACS™ archival. The company also manages the largest teleradiology network of its kind, the Lone Star VPACS™ Teleradiology Network, providing network monitoring, maintenance and 24/7 help desk operations.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Ms. Deborah Miner
Miner Miracles LTD
281.494.6644 tel
281.494.2224 fax
http://www.minermiraclesLTD.com
dminer@MinerMiraclesLTD.com