Taking the lead in healthcare IT is all about executing on a vision to
create seamless connectivity of all imaging and patient information
systems to enable comprehensive, well-organized patient data to flow to
the caregiver, whenever it is needed. That's a tall order, but here
you'll learn more about 10 healthcare facilities and networks that are
succeeding. They have invested in digital imaging, IT and the technical
and human infrastructure to connect devices, physicians and referring
physicians - and then get information back to the patient for quick
diagnosis and treatment.
This year's nominations were accepted from June 10th through July 22nd.
Two hundred and eighty nine qualified forms were received, representing
more than 550 healthcare facilities. Among the factors differentiating
the winners were percentage of facility that is filmless, percentage of
procedures that are digital, the number of modalities and departments
that send and utilize images from PACS and the ability of in-network
physicians and referring physicians to access electronic images.
Believe us, the competition was furious. And here are the winners -
plus a series of honorable mention facilities broken down into six
categories: Heart Hospitals, Children's Hospitals, IDNs, Imaging
Centers, Municipality-Owned Hospitals and Small Hospitals.
Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals (BW/F) Boston, Mass. | brighamandwomens.org
This 755-bed non-profit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School is
a member of the Partners HealthCare System. Every day, on average, some
1,654 people have outpatient visits, 112 people are admitted, 148
people visit the ER, 78 people have surgery, 266 patients seek care in
the community health centers and 27 babies are born. The BW/F Medical
Imaging IT program is multi-institutional and includes Brigham and
Women's Hospital, Faulkner Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
and multi-disciplinary including all radiology disciplines, cardiology,
anesthesia and vascular medicine. The program is focused on systems
thinking and design to implement integrated information tools at the
point of care.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI,
Ultrasound, Cath Lab, DR, CR, PET, PET/CT, Echocardiography, Vascular
Medicine, Anesthesia and Vascular Surgery
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology,
Dermatology, Enterprise Physicians including ICUs, ORs, Surgical and
Rehab
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Partners Information Systems - BICS
CPOE: Medicalis, Partners Information Systems
Storage: EMC
Servers: HP, Dell, Sun & Compaq
RIS: IDX
CIS: Medicalis
LIS: Partners Information Systems
PACS: GE, Stentor, Siemens, Agfa & Amicas
Voice/Speech Recognition: Dictaphone, Escription
CAD: R2 & CADx
3D: Vital Images, GE Healthcare, Siemens
Echocardiography: Siemens
Facility Stats
885 licensed beds
11,000 employees
580,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures that are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
15,000 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
INTEGRIS Health: Baptist Medical Center & Southwest Medical Center Oklahoma City, Okla. | integris-health.com
Oklahoma's largest state-owned health system runs not-for-profit
hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health
facilities, independent living centers and home health agencies through
much of the state. Integris has placed great emphasis on integrating
patient EMR and digital imaging. Substantial investments have been made
in infrastructure to allow high speed access to patient information in
redundant format. This includes local LAN
and wireless access from all patient floors, ER, ICU, OR and related
treatment areas. Reports and access to imaging studies are available
online, real time via web browser access.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology,
Dermatology, X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography,
Computed Radiography, PET, PET/CT, C-arm and Cystography
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and
Dermatology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Cerner, Siemens
CPOE: Cerner
Storage: EMC, Plasmon, StorageTek & Pioneer
Servers: Sun, Dell & HP
RIS: Cerner
CIS: Heartlab & Camtronics
LIS: Cerner
PACS: Agfa
Voice/Speech Recognition: Dictaphone
CAD: R2 & CADx
3D: Vital Images
Facility Stats
500+ licensed beds
1,000+ employees
200,000-299,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,000+ physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Boston, Mass. | mgh.harvard.edu
MGH is the third oldest general hospital in the U.S. and the oldest and
largest in New England. The 893-bed facility, a member of Partners
HealthCare System, which offers diagnostic and therapeutic care in
virtually every specialty and sub-specialty of medicine and surgery
admits more than 44,000 outpatients annually and handles almost 1.5
million visits in its outpatient
programs at the main campus and its four health centers. MGH claims the
largest hospital-based research program in the U.S. with an annual
research budget of more than $450 million. It is the oldest and largest
teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI,
Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography, PET,
PET/CT, 3D Imaging and Bone Densitometry
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and
Dermatology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: in house
CPOE: in house
Storage: Sun, IBM & Winchester
Servers: HP, Dell, IBM & Sun
RIS: IDX
LIS: Misys
PACS: Agfa & Amicas
Voice/Speech Recognition: Commissure
CAD: R2 & CADx
3D: Vital Images, Voxar, TeraRecon & Mercury
Facility Stats
893 licensed beds
19,500 employees
500,000+ annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,000+ physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
This integrated health system serves nearly two million people a year
across its 250-mile service area stretching from Jamestown, N.D. to
Bemidji, Minn. - having begun as a small doctor's office in downtown
Fargo in 1905. It is the largest group practice, largest hospital in
North Dakota and largest private employer in the state. Each year,
MeritCare's two hospitals - MeritCare Hospital with 380 beds and
MeritCare South University with 203 beds - together admit more than
21,000 patients, log 43,000+ ER visits and provide for 17,000 surgeries
and 2,000 births. In total, 73 medical specialties are represented.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI,
Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography, PET,
PET/CT, 3D Imaging and Bone Densitometry
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and
Dermatology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Siemens
Storage: IBM
Servers: HP
RIS: IDX
CIS: GE
LIS: SCC
PACS: Philips
CAD: R2
3D: Barco-Voxar
Facility Stats
583 licensed beds
6,400+ employees
250,000 annual imaging procedures
95% procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
300-399 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, Pa. | hmc.psu.edu
This 479-bed medical center annually admits more than 25,000 patients,
accepts nearly 738,000 outpatient visits, handles 47,000+ patients in
the ER and provides for nearly 22,000 surgical procedures. The facility
utilizes an integrated electronic medical record that is available at
all times to care providers both on-site or remotely. Utilizing 350+
order sets, some 10,500 orders and 6,000 forms are used in automating
workflow. All orders and nursing documentation on all inpatients and
emergency department patients are entered directly, electronically by
the clinician. Availability to all results, including radiology and
laboratory, can be accessed via an internal wireless network.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Dermatology, X-ray,
CT, MRI, Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed
Radiography, PET, PET/CT, Digital Fluoroscopy and Endoscopy
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and
Dermatology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Cerner
CPOE: Cerner
Storage: HP & IBM
Servers: HP & IBM
RIS: IDX
CIS: Heartlab & ProSolv
LIS: Sunquest
PACS: IDX
Voice/Speech Recognition: ScanSoft
CAD: R2 & CADx
3D: TeraRecon
Facility Stats
479 licensed beds
7,700 employees
200,000-299,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,000+ physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH)
New Brunswick, N.J. | rwjuh.edu
This principal hospital for UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
and a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System & Network
treats more than 100,000 patients annually. Its centers of excellence
include specializations in pediatrics, cancer, digestive diseases,
clinical neuroscience, cardiology, advanced heart failure and
cardiology transplantation, kidney and pancreas transplantation,
trauma, thoracic and vascular medicine and women's health. RWJUH
launched into PACS in 1997, and continues to invest to allow physicians
to have online, remote access to images from radiology, cardiology and
oncology. Wireless connectivity and mobile computing also are
priorities.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI,
Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography,
Mammography and PET
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Eclipsys
CPOE: Eclipsys
Storage: HP
Servers: HP & IBM
RIS: Cerner
LIS: Cerner
PACS: Agfa
Voice/Speech Recognition: Dolbey
Facility Stats
570 licensed beds
3,800 employees
300,000-399,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,250 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
Sentara Healthcare is the largest integrated healthcare provider in
southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, serving more
than 2 million residents. It operates six acute-care hospitals and one
extended stay hospital and more than 70 sites of care, 43 primary-care
practices and six imaging centers. Sentara installed RIS, PACS, voice
recognition and web image distribution between December 2002 and July
2005. Prior to PACS, Sentara had radiology report turnaround times from
41 hours to 7 hours. Today, the average radiology report turnaround is
7 hours measured from exam start to final report authorization. Film
expense has dipped as web image access by physicians has surged.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Surgery, Critical Care/ICU/CCU,
Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound, Cath Lab, DR, CR, PET,
PET/CT, Non invasive US (Cardiac)
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology, OP
Centers, VOA, TCI
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: HBOC
Storage: EMC, StorageTek
RIS: Cerner
CIS: Siemens
LIS: Cerner
PACS: Agfa
Voice/Speech Recognition: Talk Technology
CAD: GE
Radiation Oncology: Impac
Facility Stats
1,500 licensed beds
15,000 employees
720,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,225 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
Sutter Novato & Marin General Hospitals
Novato and Greenbrae, Calif. | maringeneral.org
Sutter Novato Medical Campus and Marin General Hospital are members of
Sutter Health Network that delivers care to more than 100 Northern
California communities. Together, the hospitals represent the dominant
healthcare institutes serving Marin County. The facilities store all
diagnostic images on a unified PACS database with distributed servers.
A common patient database service allows imaging studies to be viewed
at any of the sites of service. Images from ICU patients are available
at the San Francisco-based "eICU" - a centralized 24-hour ICU
surveillance system staffed by nurses and intensivists.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology, X-ray,
CT, MRI, Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed
Radiography, Mammography, PET and PET/CT
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine and Pathology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Siemens
Storage: StorageTek
Servers: Sun
RIS: Misys
CIS: Heartlab
LIS: Misys
PACS: Siemens
CAD: R2
3D: TeraRecon
Facility Stats
200 licensed beds
400-499 employees
100,000-199,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
200-299 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at University of Texas
Houston, Texas | mdanderson.org
This world renown cancer center, which has increased in size by 50
percent in the last five years, now includes an in-patent pavilion with
475 beds, clinical research building, outpatient clinic building, a
faculty office building and a patient-family hotel. This year, more
than 70,000 cancer patients will be treated here, 25,000 of them being
new patients. An in-house EMR, with medical images as its cornerstone
data source, enables integration of medical images directly into
institutional workflow. To this end, more than 220,000 imaging studies
are viewed by clinicians a month along with 1.3 million patient
electronic chart reviews and 600,000 radiology report reviews.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT, MRI,
Ultrasound, Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography, PET, PET/CT,
Pathology and Dermatology
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology,
Dermatology and Enterprise
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Siemens
CPOE: ClinicStation (in house)
Storage: Stentor
Servers: Compaq/HP & IBM
RIS: Siemens
CIS: Philips
LIS: Cerner
PACS: Stentor
Voice/Speech Recognition: Dictaphone
CAD: R2
3D: GE Healthcare & Vital Images
Pharmacy Information Systems: GE Healthcare
Pathology Information Systems: Tamtron
Electronic Medical Record: ClinicStation (in house)
Anesthesiology, PACU, ICU System: PICIS
Facility Stats
400-499 licensed beds
14,000 employees
380,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,430 physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics (UWHC)
Madison, Wis. | uwhealth.org
This 471-bed facility is recognized as a national leader in fields such
as cancer treatment, pediatrics, ophthalmology, surgical specialties
and organ transplantation. UWHC offers more than 80 outpatient clinics,
six intensive care units, seven satellite locations and Level 1 trauma
status. They are a member of UW Health, a comprehensive academic health
system of healthcare providers comprised of the University of Wisconsin
Medical School, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and the
University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation. PACS has been in place for
eight years and enterprise imaging is a top-down priority with the goal
of more efficient healthcare.
Departments/modalities that send images to PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, X-ray, CT,
MRI, Ultrasound, Cath Lab, Digital Radiography, Computed Radiography, Mammography, PET and PET/CT
Departments/modalities that utilize images from PACS
Radiology, Cardiology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Surgery, Critical
Care/ICU/CCU, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Pathology and
Dermatology
Info Systems & Software Vendors
HIS: Siemens
CPOE: Epic
Storage: HP
Servers: HP
RIS: Siemens
LIS: McKesson
PACS: McKesson
Voice/Speech Recognition: Dictaphone
CAD: R2
3D: GE Healthcare & Vital Images
Facility Stats
400-499 licensed beds
1,000+ employees
300,000-399,000 annual imaging procedures
90% or more procedures are digital
90% or more of the facility is filmless
1,000+ physicians have online access to digital images
90% or more physicians have access to digital images
90% or more referring physicians have access to digital images
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Heart Hospitals
The Heart Center of Indiana (THCI)
Indianapolis, Ind. | theheartcenter.com
The Heart Center of Indiana features a four-story, 189,866 square foot
structure that includes 60 beds - with an expansion to 80 beds coming
in December. Ownership is divided evenly between St. Vincent Health, a
community-based healthcare ministry serving Indiana, and a premier
group of heart care physicians.
THCI implemented a one-stop information system that allows staff
anywhere in the facility, or via PCs linked to the network, to access
patient information. More than 90 percent of both in-network physicians
and referring physicians having access to digital images. The facility
also is more than 90 percent filmless and digital in terms of
procedures.
And the data are compelling: Actual medical errors have been reduced by
37 percent; the mortality rate has been lowered from 2.4 percent to 0.9
percent; the average length of stay has dropped from the national
benchmark by more than 25 percent; and the percutaneous coronary
intervention success rate is 97.9 percent (6.5 percent better than the
ACC benchmark).
Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital
Lincoln, Neb. | neheart.com
Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital is a 63-bed hospital (52
in-patient and 11 out-patient beds) that is part of an integrated
delivery network (IDN) including Nebraska Heart Institute, St.
Elizabeth's Hospital and Bryan Hospital. Nebraska Heart Hospital (NHH)
opened and began performing heart procedures May 2003. Annually,
physicians perform more diagnostic, interventional, and surgical
procedures than any other cardiac program in Nebraska including more
than 7,000 cardiac catheterizations, 2,500 interventions and 1,100
open-heart procedures. Altogether, the facility employs between 200 and
299 people.
NHH utilizes an EMR, CPOE, RIS, CIS, LIS and speech recognition
software as well as having PCs in all patient rooms for electronic
charting. Some 70 to 79 percent of the facility's imaging procedures
are digital, while 80 to 89 percent of the facility is filmless. Among
the departments that send images to PACS are radiology, cardiology,
surgery, critical care/ICU/CCU and nuclear medicine. Access to patient
images is a priority with more than 90 percent of physicians in the
network have access to digital images.
Part of the Texas Children's Hospital Integrated Delivery System, this
750-bed pediatric facility operates the largest pediatric emergency
center in South Central Texas. Technologies such as PACS, computerized
bedside registration, time-saving lab testing procedures and a
centralized communications center have improved and advanced care at
the facility.
Annually, between 100,000 and 199,999 imaging procedures are performed
at the facility. In total, more than 90 percent of the exams are
digital - which translates into more than 90 percent of the facility
being filmless. The departments sending images to PACS include
radiology, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, surgery, critical
care/ICU/CCU, nuclear medicine and dermatology, while the modalities
sending images to PACS include x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, computed
radiography, nuclear medicine and PET-CT. At Texas Children's, more
than 90 percent of physicians within the network and referring
physicians have access to digital images.
This 232-bed hospital that is part of Intermountain Health Care is a
Trauma 1 tertiary care center for pediatric imaging studies for the
state of Utah. It is the pediatric center serving five states in the
Intermountain West - Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Montana. In
addition, it is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics,
University of Utah, integrating pediatric programs, research and
training for childhood problems. It offers more than 40 pediatric
specialty clinics, and more than 60 medical specialties and
subspecialties.
Each year, the facility logs about 61,895 inpatient days from 11,223
inpatient admissions
Taking the lead in healthcare IT is all about executing on a vision to
create seamless connectivity of all imaging and patient information
systems to enable comprehensive, well-organized patient data to flow to
the caregiver, whenever it is needed. That's a tall order, but here
you'll learn more about 10 healthcare facilities and networks that are
succeeding. They have invested in digital imaging, IT and the technical
and human infrastructure to connect devices, physicians and referring
physicians - and then get information back to the patient for quick
diagnosis and treatment.