Summary: PenRad of Plymouth, MN, continues to offer the most advanced
mammography information systems (MIS) on the market, servicing
accounts ranging from sites that perform just a few mammograms a
day to global facilities with as many as 25 sites networked on a
common server. Their unique turnkey solution was designed by
PenRad of Plymouth, MN, continues to offer the most advanced
mammography information systems (MIS) on the market, servicing
accounts ranging from sites that perform just a few mammograms a
day to global facilities with as many as 25 sites networked on a
common server. Their unique turnkey solution was designed by and
for radiologists and technologists. It incorporates interactive
graphic screens that enhance and automate data collection for
patient interviews, examinations, and report generation with a
"tap-not-type" method that makes it easy to use and learn.
The PenRad MIS, however, is more than just a tracking and
reporting tool; it can improve your practice as well. The system
can be used as a marketing tool through its ability to monitor
referral patterns and provide instant reports and correspondence.
It can also be a guardian angel for your facility by generating
reminder or recall letters for patients and tracking unresolved
cases. The system exceeds the Mammography Quality Standards Act
(MQSA) requirements and can provide automated MQSA compliance
reports. It can also assist in internal practice audits, providing
statistical analysis of staff, examinations, mammography practice,
and pathology, as well as providing complete analysis of staff
functions and personnel performance.
The open architecture easily accepts new modules and additional
workstations or sites as your practice grows. The latest upgrades
to the system include an integrated appointment scheduling module,
a complete quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) module, a bone
densitometry module, and, most recently, an interface designed to
allow the integration of computer-aided detection (CAD) systems
within the PenRad workstation.
The integrated appointment scheduling module provides
at-a-glance viewing of all examination rooms and procedures, and
displays the status of each room for any day, month, or year
selected. The system also prints a daily schedule with a
film-jacket pull list. In addition, the module prints reminder,
follow-up, and no-show patient correspondence with specific
directions for each room and examination type. By providing this
data, the user is able to identify all appointments, procedures,
and patient information instantly.
The newest module is the CAD Communication Module (CCM). This
module will link the PenRad MIS to the CAD systems from all the
major CAD vendors. Using the CCM, the radiologist will be able to
display CAD images with the marked areas of concern directly on the
PenRad system, which can be on the same network and can share the
same workstation. The combination of these technologies will
provide enhanced interpretive workflow while reducing cost and
space requirements.
PenRad is currently working on a comprehensive soft-copy review
workstation that will allow for the display of digitized prior
films and current studies in the same resolution and format, making
it easier for the radiologist to view all patient information from
a single display workstation and generate the narrative report and
audit trail at the same time.
PenRad's business model maintains the software and provides all
software upgrades as a part of the partner license agreement in its
ongoing mission to evolve their MIS to ensure that customers are
protected from obsolescence and always have the most current
technology available. --
Kathleen Dallessio