Case Study: A Growing Orthopaedic Practice Gains Efficiency and Improved Workflow, Solves PACS Access Challenges
Summary
Consulting Orthopaedic Associates found that their practice’s efficiency and patient care was being disrupted by excessive downtime with an unresponsive PACS vendor. The busy practice needed a new PACS solution to deliver the high quality care the practices’ patients had come to expect and also improve the staff’s workflow.
Background
Consulting Orthopaedic Associates is a privately-owned orthopedic and physical rehabilitation practice, headquartered in Sylvania, OH, with an additional office in Bowling Green, OH. The practice’s staff, led by Thomas Andreshak, MD, FAAOS, Steven Sokoloski, MD, FAAOS and Dominque Lash, MD, offers experienced, compassionate medical care.
All the physicians are board certified and have subspecialty interests that include spine care, total joint replacements, sports injuries, shoulder disorders, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The medical staff strongly believes that the foundation for successful medical treatment is based on developing a caring relationship with each patient. Their philosophy is to treat patients the same way they would want to be treated: with compassion, intelligence, and with the latest medical techniques and technology.
The practice’s dedicated staff is highly trained in all areas of medicine and medical office procedures. They understand and appreciate that patients are facing a stressful time; their goal is to make this time as easy as possible.
Challenge
Consulting Orthopaedic Associates is committed to providing comprehensive and advanced orthopaedic care using the very latest in medical procedures. A key part of being able to offer patients cutting-edge technology and improved care is the practice’s use of a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) for its radiology imaging and reports.
According to office manager, Carla Smith, the efficiency and effectiveness of the practice was in jeopardy by a slow, unreliable PACS system. The practice needed a new solution to help their physicians continue to deliver the high quality care the practices’ patients had come to expect and also to improve the staff’s workflow.
Denise Iffland, X-ray technician, explained the challenges the practice was facing.
“Our old PACS system kept locking up, and this was just unacceptable to our doctors who needed the information to help them make their care decisions. The system’s back-up procedures did not work properly, and its failure to function became more and more of an everyday hassle. It caused too much downtime for our office,” she said.
Solution
Consulting Orthopaedic Associates began searching for a new PACS system to offer improved technology, support and access. The staff decided to replace its old radiology PACS system with FreedomPACS™ from MN Systems.
“FreedomPACS has virtually eliminated our physicians’ access challenges,” said Iffland. “Our doctors are able to find their studies much easier due to FreedomPAC’s multiple search categories. And, with the system’s online access, our physicians and our surgeon clients can access their studies any time or any where they need them—eliminating frustration and wasted time spent tracking down information.”
According to Iffland, the practice is also benefiting from FreedomPACS easy access and HIPAA-compliant communications.
“All our physicians have to do is log into a secure website, with their username and password, and they can retrieve their patients’ information and make clinical decisions,” she said.
Another feature that the staff liked was FreedomPACS’ stability, back-up capabilities and customer support.
“One of the problems we had with our old system was that the CD burner was often inoperable and our doctors could not provide patients with CDs of their images. FreedomPACS has completely solved this challenge,” explained Iffland. “Back-ups are also much easier. We also appreciate their excellent support. Thankfully, we have not experienced the technical problems we had with our former system, but it’s nice to know help is available when you need it.”
Results
Since Consulting Orthopaedic Associates switched to FreedomPACS, the practice has been able to access radiology images and reports more efficiently, which has improved workflow and patient care.
“When our physicians are happy, the entire practice is happy. Our doctors are very pleased with FreedomPACS. They like the system’s improved technology and the workflow enhancements it has brought to our entire staff,” Iffland said.
As the practice continues to grow and expand, FreedomPACS can continue to serve its needs.
“FreedomPACS is completely scalable and can grow as our image reading needs grow. When we do require system changes or customizations, they are performed quickly and efficiently,” Iffland said. “Personally, Carla and I could not be more pleased with our support. I can’t say enough about their responsiveness.”
For more information, call 855-740-1130 or contact us online for a demo.
About FreedomPACS™
FreedomPACS (https://freedompacs.net) is a cost-effective medical Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) that provides convenient, economical access and archiving of images from multiple modalities (like CT or MRI) using cloud technology. This radiology PACS system is HIPAA-compliant, incorporates DICOM standards and can be accessed on PC or MAC as well as mobile platforms like iPad and Android. FreedomPACS is owned by MN Systems, headquartered in Southfield, MI, a joint venture between a medical software development company and a group of practicing physicians. MN Systems brings technology and medical expertise to its customers, combining software development knowledge and physician experience to provide affordable, efficient, and leading-edge medical software solutions to ultimately improve patient care.