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White Paper
Realize True Transformation with an Enterprise Imaging Strategy
Summary
A true enterprise imaging solution should align effectively with an organization’s goals and facilitate the diagnostic imaging workflow across any defined "enterprise"
The effective collection, use and sharing of information to help streamline processes and deliver quality patient care is a persistent and overriding challenge for hospitals, radiology clinics, and physicians alike.
Ultimately, the beneficiary is the patient as reduced wait times, report turnaround times and higher levels of service delivery become attainable goals for organizations. Key to achieving these goals is the consolidation of health information, better resource allocation and utilization, the harmonization of clinical and business processes, and a data driven continuity program — a true service transformation.
This document is intended to guide you in selecting the right transformation partner.
Introduction
Crafting and implementing an enterprise imaging strategy can help reduce wait times for patients, ensure continuity of patient care and empower organizations to manage their work forces more efficiently improving workflow and potentially realizing annual cost savings. In addition, a true enterprise imaging solution should align effectively with an organization’s goals and facilitate the diagnostic imaging workflow across any defined “enterprise.”
Enterprise Imaging Strategy
Executing a customized, intelligent enterprise imaging strategy successfully requires a carefully selected solution provider. The chosen partner must have the capacity to augment an organization’s capabilities in order to:
- Drive collaboration across the enterprise (i.e. improving data and resource management)
- Optimize clinical operations through workflow and process improvements
- Reduce wait times, improving overall service quality
- Support value based care through enhanced quality of care and patient outcomes
Selecting the Right Partner
Consider these eight factors when selecting a partner to execute an enterprise imaging strategy:
Proven Track Record
The solution provider must be able to evidence similar or larger scale deployments. Request independent access to designated mediators and inquire about quality of the delivery, the ongoing post go-live relationship, and the interactions with the support teams.
Experts to Enable the Transformation of Diagnostic Imaging Services
Specific expertise in diagnostic imaging is vital. If your chosen solution provider is proposing a true enterprise imaging solution, they should offer expertise in the areas of:
- Leadership and governance
- Assessment and design
- Process review
- IT solutions
- Resources
- Quality and compliance
- Revenue cycle assessment
- Change and adoption management
Workflow Engine
An integrated enterprise workflow engine provides visibility into radiology workflows across an enterprise, ensuring that work is assigned and completed efficiently. The workflow engine should be independent of the existing systems but able to integrate with any PACS/RIS system. The following list represents key workflow capabilities of an enterprise system.
- Universal and personalized worklist
- Complete work prioritization & assignment
- Comprehensive view of patient data
- Automated notification and triggers
- System interoperability
- Critical results management
- Dynamic workflow racilitation
Data Analytics Technologies
Data analytics are a key component to enabling and measuring future optimization and transformation activities. Information critical to understanding and managing revenue, quality, and efficacy of imaging departments, is often scattered across multiple systems. To harness these systems and the power of data they store, the solution provider should have a range of appropriate technologies to:
- Allow “dynamic” access to all data sources enabling the monitoring, management, and data analysis to support process improvement
- Integrate, harmonize, and transform data effectively to facilitate accurate and meaningful reporting
- Analyze and understand operational performance and monitor key performance indicators
- Provide data governance to ensure the integrity of data going forward
Data Migration Capability
Successful, complete, and rapid migration of all the identified data into a VNA is crucial to the success of the project. Your solution provider should have successful experience in the delivery of largescale, rapid data migrations and be able to provide:
- A proven methodology to support rapid migration
- Achievable timelines and critical success factors
- Profiles of the personnel that will be responsible for the migration
- Clear, demonstrable plans for how ‘business as usual’ will be maintained during the migration process (including clinical impact of the migration process)
- References for similar large scale data migrations including details on associated timelines and volumes
Cross-Enterprise Image Viewing and Reporting Systems
The solution provider should be able to realize the enterprise imaging solution and benefits without a need to ‘rip and replace’ existing PACS infrastructure. In addition, the proposed solution should:
- Integrate with any existing imaging infrastructure
- Facilitate the seamless replacement of these systems with their own or other PACS systems without impacting the overall solution
- Enable clinicians to work with the workstation and tools of their choice — ideally, a diagnostic, grade-zero footprint viewer accessible on any facility-approved device (mobile, tablet, PC, etc.)
Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA)
The VNA is one of the cornerstones of any true enterprise imaging architecture, and the selection of an appropriate VNA is integral to a successful transformation. To offer real longevity and value, the VNA should be a stand-alone system which offers a vendor neutral diagnostic viewer accessible by anyone in the enterprise, along with Workflow Tools to manage reporting tasks, quality tasks, and communication across the entire enterprise. When choosing a VNA, ensure that it can:
- Store and manage data in its acquired native format (DICOM and non-DICOM)
- Scale effectively
- Provide intelligent DICOM and HL7 routing
- Offer native multi-site patient aliasing
- Deliver value
Change Healthcare — Medical Imaging Consulting is ideally positioned to help clients select the best path to value-based healthcare and realize transformational change across the enterprise.
MACRA Implications to Revenue Models
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) aligns and modernizes how Medicare payments are tied to the quality and cost of patient care. This legislation replaces the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula with a new Quality Payment Program for paying Medicare clinicians.
The solution provider should deliver the necessary project, business intelligence, and change management consulting services to ensure successful integration and adoption of the new pricing models and the transition to value-based patient care. Meaningful, powerful reporting mechanisms, and dashboards should be created to monitor and ensure the MACRA rollout is successful and meets legislative goals as well as organizational priorities.
Summary
The right solution partner is paramount. Once all of these factors are considered, the likelihood of selecting one is vastly improved; more importantly, a truly transformational enterprise imaging strategy is attainable and a successful partnership is within reach.
Change Healthcare — Medical Imaging Consulting can deliver end-to-end enterprise imaging transformation that can support improved workflow and processes, and potentially boost profitability.
As the healthcare industry moves toward a more personalized, value-based care model, Change Healthcare can help you keep up with the dramatic, industry-wide reform while driving improvements in clinical quality and safety as well as workflow efficiency and financial performance.
