Flexible cloud-based PACS platform for fast and accurate reporting.
Synergy Radiology Associates is Houston’s premier radiology team, comprised of more than 75 Board Certified Radiologists and one of the fastest growing radiology groups in the county. We sat down with J. Armando Saenz, M.D. to discuss how the flexibility of PICOM365.com, ScImage’s cloud-based PACS has supported Synergy’s vision for growth and patient care.
Why did you select ScImage’s PICOM365 cloud-based PACS?
With more than 75 radiologists, Synergy provides radiology reading capabilities for more than 100 sites. We serve different facilities with varying needs, some have no PACS of their own, others have systems already in place but they need a quality radiology group to be plugged into their workflow. The robust capabilities of the PICOM365.com architecture give us the flexibility to have arrangements that meet the technology and workflow needs for clients of varying sizes.
Most of our clients are cloud-based, but one of our major clients requires a physical server at each facility. Ultimately, our vision is to have workflow in which radiologists can use a single platform with one window, or at least one monitor – a way to easily look at the worklist and manage the list without necessitating too many monitors or steps, and allows control in terms of how and where the studies are routed.
How does the flexibility of ScImage’s cloud-based PACS help you serve your clients’ needs?
ScImage worked with us to create a master worklist that tied our workflow with other clients and facilities. This included revamping the radiology reading dashboard to create a second worklist for the on-premise exams, giving radiologists two windows on the same screen to watch the different server environments. On our end, our radiologists log into one worklist and are able to see everything they need. We have tags that allow us to know where the studies are coming from but they all show up on one work list, and one system. It has been working well.
The flexibility to use both cloud and physical servers is further enhanced by custom filters to manage which studies go to which rads. As a result, when a radiologist logs in, they only see the studies they need to read, giving us the ability to handle various facilities with different credentialing makeups.
How does ScImage’s PicomSentry Help Support Growth?
Overall, ScImage has supported our growth because it is a very robust system, it is easy to implement, and helps us keep up with, and accommodate client demands. Because we serve so many different facilities with varying system needs, a quick and easy implementation is critical to get plugged into their workflow.
As we bring on new sites, we’ve started deploying ScImage’s PicomSentry, a preconfigured security appliance that enables users to utilize ScImage’s PICOM365 Enterprise PACS with plug and play convenience. Whether a facility has an existing solution or no imaging system place, PicomSentry provides immediate back-end interoperability and they’re up and running with a robust system. It provides our customer with options to leverage the PACS they have already invested or start a sophisticated image management solution. It’s quick and easy, and we can get a site up and running in weeks, not months – it’s one of the fastest implementations in the industry.
Why is the speed of report turn-around time important?
In addition to patient experience, speed and accuracy are critical to the delivery of high quality medicine in the ER setting. Accuracy is a given, we have a process to maintain accuracy and our error rate is well below the national standard. So, why does speed matter? It matters because when the report takes longer, the clinician is waiting – and even, more importantly, the patient is waiting.
We’re very proud that Synergy is able to consistently deliver some of the fastest report turn-around times in the country. That is one of the most important reasons we’ve implemented PICOM365 by ScImage. We did not want exams being sent from server to server or from server to cloud which is going to add time, and therefore, impact the final turn-around time. Speed, accuracy and quality are not only the keys to good patient care, but they are critical to our ongoing success and growth.