Case Studies

Multi-facility PACS Implementation& General Contracting

Strategy Planning for Medical Imaging Informatics

Capital Plan for Radiology Imaging

Enterprise Planning for Cardiology Systems

Review of Cardiology Systems

 

Multi-facility PACS Implementation& General Contracting

Abrio supported the initiative to implement a multi-facility PACS system across five hospitals comprising 1800 plus-beds serving a major metropolitan city.  Abrio was hired to provide General Contracting Services to include: acquisition of equipment, project management, implementation and integration of PACS system across the enterprise to support all five facilities. 

There were a number of challenges associated with this implementation into a very competitive market.  Other competitors across the city had previously implemented PACS using various different systems.  Among the biggest challenges were the creation of a collaborative effort and re-design of each of the previously disparate Radiology Departments.  This included generating enterprise-wide policies that accounted for the image variations from each facility and multiple radiology groups. 

Abrio Consultants provided guidance and support to more easily make the complex transition to the comprehensive enterprise-wide, digital imaging solution.   Abrio provided expertise in the areas of system architecture, policies, quality outcome measurements, job descriptions, and workflow re-engineering.  In addition, consultants provided strategies for long term archive and image integration to enable successful comprehensive enterprise-wide digital imaging solution.  Clinical outcome and financial metrics (for example; patient through-put, report turn-around time, reduction in operating costs) were provided to the client with a plan for measuring and optimizing these metrics over time.   

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Strategy Planning for Medical Imaging Informatics

As part of the EMR Strategy, a 600-bed academic hospital in a major metropolitan city had made a decision to centralize clinical data storage.  It became apparent there were multiple silos of digital imaging data across the enterprise.  Abrio was hired to help develop a central long term archive strategy with integration to an enterprise electronic medical record.     
 
Abrio’s team of experts assessed the clinical, technical and financial needs of the institution, then subsequently developed an RFP and reviewed the responses with additional recommendations for implementation.  Abrio provided assistance in identifying PACS and DICOM storage technology vendors including innovation implementation strategies for application specific systems.

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Capital Plan for Radiology Imaging

Located in a medium sized metropolitan city and in a very competitive market, the health system needed to lower costs and integrate service lines.   This 600-bed, two-facility health system with competing Radiology Departments and capital dollars was faced with the challenge of integrating operations.

As a parallel project for the Abrio-lead PACS implementation, our consultants reviewed all imaging modalities and associated software systems at the two facilities with considerations of replacement and enhancement.  A modality technology assessment was performed and the market evaluation of the projected imaging needs of the community.  Abrio recommended a technology path based on development futures from the modality vendors with an associated capital plan for replacement and acquisition over a 5-year time frame.

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Enterprise Planning for Cardiology Systems

Hospital senior management of a 250-bed regional community hospital requested assistance to review the cardiology program currently under expansion. The concurrent implementation of the radiology PACS required a detailed integration plan with hardware and software systems for medical imaging.  

Abrio provided design assistance with implementation and integration into the hospital information systems, upgrading of the modalities, system selection support, and integration of the cardiology systems with the radiology PACS and the designated long term medical imaging archive.

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Review of Cardiology Systems

Executive Management at a 650-bed facility desired to expand their PACS across their regional network and integrate into an electronic health record.  Radiology PACS had been implemented several years earlier; however, cardiology had multiple silos of data in echocardiograms and cath labs. All waveform data was collected and reported on a system designated as “end-of-life”.  

Abrio provided a strategic review of the existing storage architecture and network for the ability to support enterprise medical imaging.  Abrio provided a tactical plan for upgrade and replacement of Cardiology Systems (including proposed storage and network architecture) and a framework to consolidate their executive level administration of enterprise medical imaging under a unified strategic plan.

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