How Konica Minolta’s next generation, cloud-based enterprise imaging is powering one practice’s growth
Finding the right enterprise imaging (EI) system is critical for radiology practices and hospitals that need to expand and scale their multi-specialty image management and reading capacity. For Houston Northwest Radiology Association (HNRA), a very large increase in the volume of images they manage and read for their hospital and outpatient clients means it’s time to commit to a next-gen EI system.
"We wanted a reliable, robust, cloud-based PACS that was very user friendly from a large, reputable company that would support the growth of our business," says Muzammil A. Shafi, MD, a neuroradiologist and managing partner of HNRA. "Our volume is growing, similar to that of many practices across the country. Currently, we read more than 250,000 studies on Konica Minolta’s Exa® PACS. As a radiology group, we plan to read more than 650,000 over the next year."
"Our volume is growing, similar to that of many practices across the country. Currently, we read more than 250,000 studies on Konica Minolta’s Exa® PACS. As a radiology group, we plan to read more than 650,000 over the next year."
Muzammil A. Shafi, MD, Neuroradiologist and Managing Partner, Houston Northwest Radiology Association
To support that 160 percent jump, HRNA chose to stay with their PACS vendor since 2019, Konica Minolta. Currently on Exa PACS private cloud, HNRA is investing in the next-generation Exa PACS public cloud platform with the experience and confidence knowing it will scale to manage images they’re reading for large healthcare systems, trauma centers, community hospitals, emergency clinics and imaging groups.
The practice has more than 35 radiologists that serve multiple clients that include five hospitals within one healthcare system and multiple imaging centers and emergency clinics. Multi-specialty reads span neuroradiology, interventional, body, pediatrics and breast imaging.
The practice is ingesting and managing all the images from their clients, into one system. While the hospitals and imaging centers use other PACS as well, Exa PACS is the source of truth for immediate and comprehensive access to images and data.
“If one of the hospital’s PACS goes down or the entire system from an IT standpoint, we are still able to directly view images on our system,” Dr. Shafi notes. “That allows us to provide seamless care of the patients across the enterprises, even during hospital specific downturns.”
The new cloud-based Konica Minolta Exa Enterprise platform, in partnership with AWS, was chosen because HNRA needs a reliable backup solution when the main hospital PACS goes down. “That has become, unfortunately, increasingly more common,” Dr. Shafi says. “So, we started a project to connect every single hospital that we cover into one enterprise imaging system.”
The Exa platform, which receives images directly from the hospitals and clinics, optimizes clinical and operational workflows and enables images and data to be stored, accessed and viewed regardless of file type, from anywhere. It’s uniquely tailored for small- to mid-sized hospitals with less than 500 beds and hospital-owned imaging centers, as well as privately held large radiology groups.
"Exa PACS has been extremely successful for us,” Dr. Shafi says. “We have 99.9% reliability in terms of uptime. It is our go-to pressure relief valve for any time we have IT issues in the hospital. It’s also incredibly fast, particularly with its server-side rendering. We can review complex studies like CTs and MRIs much faster than we can with the hospital’s own PACS. And the tools we need are always there.”
Dr. Shafi and the group are content in their decision to move to a next-gen EI system, namely for the integration across platforms and tools. “Very excited” is the term he uses.
“The artificial intelligence platforms that include voice recognition and smart workplace orchestrators will greatly help our business,” he notes. “The partnership between Konica Minolta and AWS provides infrastructure to some of the largest clients in the U.S, and the world, and we are glad to be part of that team. Konica Minolta has been a highly reliable and robust platform. Its partnership with AWS will make the platform even more scalable in the future. As our business grows, we do not have to worry about infrastructure.”
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com