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ALGOTEC
PACS OFFERS RAPID RETURN ON INVESTMENT The bottom line on a PACS is really the bottom line. While digital conversion offers a wide range of benefits, in today’s economic environment, demonstrating return on investment is (ROI) is even more crucial than ever before. Antelope Valley Hospital (AVH), a major provider of comprehensive health services in Lancaster, CA, is a recognized leader in the utilization of information systems to improve services while containing costs. Not surprisingly, when selecting our PACS for enterprise-wide image distribution and management, we looked carefully at the cost-benefit equation for every feature. As
a result, we estimate our PACS from Algotec, the international Web-based
image management and communications vendor, will pay for itself in less
than two years. This is a conservative figure based on savings realized
in easily quantifiable hard costs such as film and developing, which
have already reduced departmental expenses by 70 percent.
Numerous additional savings, from increased productivity for
radiologists and technicians to lower film storage costs, actually accelerate
the ROI. What’s
more, our PACS offers additional benefits such as open architecture
that will continue to grow with us as we expand our hospital communications
network in the future. Our
ROI may be faster than the typical PACS installation, but we took concrete
steps to ensure this. First,
realizing that PACS is really a software-driven product, we looked for
a software-only solution that allowed us to purchase the most essential
part directly from the developer.
This allowed us to work with a vendor like Algotec that was far
more reasonably priced than the large equipment manufacturers as well
as to specify custom-developed features meeting our exact needs.
It also allowed us to take advantage of Web technology and use
PCs –not expensive proprietary hardware outside of the radiology department,
significantly cutting costs. Algotec was the first company to receive
FDA approval for Web-based PACS and continues to be a technology leader. When
planning the system, we also were extremely circumspect about accessing
needs of all physicians impacted by the move to digital and in specifying
a system that would meet these needs from day one. Our radiologists
wanted speed, flexibility and full functionality.
This included 3-D capabilities to handle the increasingly complex
datasets being produced by our new multidetector CT scanners.
We also surveyed doctors carefully throughout the hospital to
ensure that they also would receive images in a form and timeframe appropriate
for their use so that we would not have to continue to print film. To
address these issues, we examined systems from a range of vendors, from
smaller specialized vendors such as Algotec to large equipment manufacturers.
As Ash Shehatta, Chief Information Officer for AVH, noted: “Algotec
proved to be the best of breed across all dimensions, from web-based
image distribution to complex 3-D volume rendering.
Their comprehensive workflow solution, in particular, had no
rival.” The IT department also looked carefully at the system interfaces
needed now and in the future.
They also examined special functions to ensure that the system
could meet these demands as well. Concurrently with the PACS, we installed an IDX radiology information
system and wanted total integration so that either of the two systems
could be accessed directly from within the other.
We needed strong teleradiology capabilities to communicate with
our consulting radiology group in the Los Angeles area. And we were
developing a wireless virtual private network to allow broadband access
to the system from outlaying offices and clinics. Working with software- driven vendor Algotec, we received the
advanced technology, experience and the flexible solutions to meet these
needs. After a full range of RFPs and site visits, we made the final
decision to work with Algotec, and the company was there every step
of the way to ensure smooth installation.
Ash Shehatta notes that: “Working with Algotec, from day one,
we began redefining the way medicine is practiced in our enterprise,
along with enjoying cost-cutting benefits.”
Installation began in October 2000, and by May 2001 we went
completely filmless. Radiologists particularly liked sophisticated pre-fetching,
image display and other robust features.
Physicians throughout the hospital benefited from access to digital
images using Algotec’s Web-based Medisurf running on inexpensive standard
PCs. In addition to substantial savings in film and developing
costs, the project realized numerous additional financial benefits including
the elimination of maintenance costs for wet processing and laser film
output, increased throughput of technologists, and economical distribution
of images in diagnostic reports to referring physicians both in-house
and off-premises. The later
is done over the Internet with Algotec’s Med-e-mail feature. Significantly,
new efficiencies in the radiology department streamline diagnosis and
result in a reduction in length of patient stay, again a major cost-cutting
benefit. In addition, clerical and scheduling staff now fulfills
lower end PACS maintenance functions.
Previously, similar film-based maintenance was handled by more
expensive technologists. The
PACS has also proven to be an effective marketing tool by improving
communications with referring physicians, boosting the perception of
departmental customer service and positioning AVH and Renaissance Imaging
Medical Associates as the Valley’s imaging leader. Given all this, everyone was extremely pleased with the installation and our choice of Algotec, from radiologists to referring physicians to management who had their eyes on the bottom line.
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