Timely and easy access to healthcare data, including diagnostic images, can improve patient outcomes and care coordination.
Recognizing the importance of systemwide access to diagnostic images, Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health established a coordinated enterprise imaging strategy. In an Oct. 27 webinar, sponsored by Hyland Healthcare and hosted byBecker's Hospital Review,two leaders from UNC Health described their strategy and shared benefits of implementing an enterprise imaging strategy with a vendor neutral archive — or VNA — as its main solution. They were joined by an expert from Vidagos, a consulting firm that helps organizations on their enterprise imaging journey.
The panelists were:
- Jeff Agricola, enterprise clinical imaging IT manager, UNC Health
- Brad Cook, HCS, applications developer, UNC Health
- Cheryl Petersilge, MD, founder and CEO, Vidagos
Here are five key takeaways from the webinar:
1. Medical images are integral components of a full patient record. Medical images, whether they are point-of-care ultrasounds or an X-ray from the radiology department, are crucial components of the patient record. No matter where a patient goes for care within an organization, providers should have to access these medical images to improve care continuity and make more informed clinical decisions. This is why establishing an enterprise imaging strategy with a VNA, rather than multiple, siloed Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS) can be key to improving patient care.
"If images were obtained at hospital A, but the patient is following up at hospital B, for the most complete patient record you want [clinicians] to see images from hospital A at hospital B," Dr. Petersilge said. "It's a whole lot simpler and automated if you are all pulling from the same archive."
2. The move to a VNA is not just an IT project; it is an enterprise-wide initiative. At UNC Health, leaders identified several reasons for wanting a longitudinal view of the imaging record. Some of the reasons included improving access to images across the organization, reducing complexity, saving clinician time, realizing cost savings and eliminating data silos. These buckets reveal that it was really an all-encompassing, enterprise-wide initiative, not just driven by the IT department.
3. There are numerous benefits to establishing a VNA. Having a single source for imaging data improved care quality, drove efficiencies and lowered costs at UNC Health. Mr. Cook shared several specific benefits, including that UNC Health now has a longitudinal patient record, that its informatics teams can find imaging data seamlessly, and that the system can capture point-of-care images from multiple sources and find them easily. Beyond clinical efficiencies, UNC Health has also been able to use the VNA to store quality control studies for easy access in the event of a CMS audit.
"It's become this animal that has grown beyond just clinicians and the clinical viewer," Mr. Cook said. "It's become this operational tool and has provided consistency across an ever growing healthcare landscape."
The transition to a VNA has also resulted in several patient centric benefits, as images are electronically available in near real time.
"At the end of the day, we are able to raise the standard of care and that is what is important. We are able to provide services at other partner hospitals in a cost-effective way," Mr. Agricola said.
4. Getting key stakeholders involved is key to a successful enterprise imaging strategy. "Get everyone on board from the beginning. All imaging departments need to feel like they have a voice. You still need cardiology on board, surgeons on board … even if they don't get the services for three years," Dr. Petersilge said.
The other panelists agreed, adding that getting leadership on board can also be beneficial.
5. The journey may take time — but don't get overwhelmed. The enormity and length of establishing an enterprise imaging strategy may overwhelm some organizations, Dr. Petersilge said. However, health systems can complete this journey in multiple steps. This may be an especially useful strategy for systems waiting for PACScontracts to expire or waiting to integrate a new hospital into the organization after an acquisition.
Overall,VNAs are a great way to help providers across the U.S. consolidate clinical images into one archive to realize efficiencies, cost savings and improve patient care.
To learn more about UNC Health's journey to enterprise imaging or how a VNA may benefit your health system, listen to the full webinar here.