Workflow. Efficiency. The terms are bounced around every day in healthcare. But when it comes to the productivity and profitability of your radiologists and the department as a whole, the right PACS makes all the difference. Getting comfortable with a system can literally cost you hundreds of thousands, if not more.

As diagnostic imaging becomes even more complex, so, too, does the business of running a hospital. Margins are low, competition is high and hospitals are consolidating just to survive. Next-generation imaging solutions are emerging to take the industry to the next level. Industry visionaries have coined the term PACS 3.0 to describe the system of the future with patient-centric data and the fulfillment of anytime, anywhere access. But these visionaries have put the industry on notice that PACS 3.0 simply can’t be achieved without the ability to scale and interoperate with other systems. The burning question in the industry should be: how do we get from here to there?

As radiology struggles to find its footing in an emerging healthcare delivery paradigm that emphasizes collaboration and accountability, radiologist Rasu Shrestha, MD, finds himself at the center of the fray at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Penn., where he was recently named chief innovation officer and president, Technology Development Center.

The seamless interface of information systems within an enterprise is the Holy Grail in health systems for good reason: Tight integrations can yield big benefits. After replacing its PACS and tightly interfacing the new system with its electronic medical record (EMR), Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health is reaping the benefits of streamlined workflow and improved patient care across its four hospitals, more than 10,000 employees, cancer center and heart and vascular center. 

In a 38-page letter to CMS, ACR submitted wide-ranging comments on the proposed 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule, from practice expense inputs to account for the film-to-digital migration to expediting the implementation of new and revalued codes.

Nine years ago, when radiologist Kevin Barker, MD, joined the solo practice of Dr. Anson Cone, Community Radiology Associates (CRA) covered one imaging center and one rural hospital, and enjoyed high regard from referring physicians in the Texas Hill Country, a vast, 25-county region marked by rugged hills separating Austin from San Antonio.

Scottsdale, Ariz., July 1, 2014 – PHS Technologies Group LLC, a unit of PACSHealth LLC and developer of software that monitors patient exposure to ionizing radiation, today announced that Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences will become a marketing, distribution and hosting partner for its DoseMonitor® OnLine software solution.

When Meadville Medical Center (MMC), Meadville, Pa., decided in 2013 to replace its legacy PACS, the 235-bed facility faced an issue common to community hospitals nationwide.