By Barbara
Dumery
Earlier this month, we wrote about increasing
national attention related to radiation dose exposure and
explored the role speech-enabled documentation integrated with automated
radiation dose reporting technology can play in addressing both patient care
and radiology workflow concerns. This
week, we’d like to explore a topic in a similar vein – patient safety and related
timely communication of critical and/or urgent patient test results.
Recently, one of our customers, Maimonides Medical Center, was named a winner of the “HIMSS
Stories of Success!” case study program. This HIMSS’ program is focused on creating a
place for healthcare organizations to share best practices with detailed
examples illustrating the value and impact of health IT on patient care. This case study program is co-sponsored by the American Society for Quality, National Committee for Quality Assurance and National Patient Safety Foundation.
Maimonides Medical Center’s submission showcased how the
innovative use of a critical test result management (CTRM) system can address patient
safety and care outcomes associated with potential delays
and/or
failures in the communication of critical test results (CTRs). Additionally, Maimonides Medical
Center’s winning case study highlighted
a recent survey they conducted that emphasized other benefits associated with
adoption of a CTRM system, such as improved radiology/clinical workflow and
satisfaction.
Dr. Mark Flyer, one of the lead authors of this case study and part
of the team that spearheaded the adoption of a CTRM system at Maimonides
Medical Center had this to say about the value of this health IT endeavor:
“The
responsibilities and pressures on radiologists have increased three-fold over
the last decade. With more to do and less time to do it in, the weight of
making the proper diagnosis in a safe, efficient fashion can quickly become challenging.
Luckily, technology has advanced to such a point that we can now leverage smart
IT to address some of these issues – like automating critical
and unexpected communication of imaging results. Considering the potential dire patient safety consequences
associated with the timely reporting of radiologic results, our organization
decided to adopt a CTRM system 4 years ago and since then, have incurred
notable care and workflow improvements. Without a doubt, it was a smart
investment for Maimonides Medical Center.”
How does
your practice streamline the communication of CTRs today? Please let us know in the comments
below. For more insight into Maimonides
Medical Center’s experience with CTRM, please visit:
http://www.himss.org/storiesofsuccess/caseStudies.asp.
Then you can scroll down the page to access their case study.
Professional Biography:
Barbara Dumery is the
Director of Diagnostics Solutions Marketing at Nuance
Communications. She joined Nuance in 2006 and has over 15 years of
experience in healthcare IT. Nuance Healthcare is the market leader in
providing clinical understanding solutions that accurately capture and
transform the patient story into meaningful, actionable information. Prior to
joining Nuance, Barbara was the Senior Product Manager at eMed Technologies.
She graduated from Tufts University in ’95 with a BSEE in Electrical
Engineering and in ’97 with an MSEE in Electrical Engineering, Biomedical
Engineering.