BWH in the Digital Age- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
BWH in the Digital Age- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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May 30, 2000
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In This Issue:
BWH in the Digital Age
This month’s Service Hero
Medical Resident Research
What do the different Emergency Codes mean?
Pike Notes
BWH’s 20th Annual Service Awards Ceremony
Dennis Thomson Compassionate Care Lecture
StreetBeat 2000
Like many US hospitals, BWH is working toward a “film-free” environment where all diagnostic images, such as x-rays, ultrasounds, and CT scans, are recorded digitally and stored on computer servers. But in most hospitals, each department that uses diagnostic imaging also uses a computer system that cannot communicate with other systems in the same hospital. BWH aims to be the first American hospital to integrate imaging systems between Radiology, Cardiology, Anesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Vascular Medicine. The first phase of the integration, a collaboration between Cardiology and Radiology, is nearly complete, and the other departments’ systems are scheduled to be added by the end of 2000. “When completed, a physician will be able to use any PC in the hospital to access all the images taken of her patient,” says Radiologist Ramin Khorasani, MD, who led Radiology’s efforts in the collaboration. Right now, doctors must shuttle between several computers and/or several hard copies of images. In addition, specialized primary diagnostic work stations will be placed in several strategic locations throughout the hospital. Jeff Popma, MD, Interventional Cardiology’s lead collaborator on the project, outlined the benefits for caregivers. “As an interventional cardiologist, I’ve spent half my career running back and forth between the cardiac cath labs and radiology—not an efficient way to do things. Cutting out the inefficiencies of film-based imaging and those of incompatible computer systems by having everything centralized means that all the members of a patient’s care team will always have direct access to the information they need.” In the new system, the stacks of x-rays on L1 would all be replaced by computer servers, freeing up space and reducing the chances of human error. Making copies of images would be a matter of copying and pasting files onto a CD. “The collaboration between these two departments has laid the foundation for an electronic imaging infrastructure unique to BWH,” says Steven Seltzer, MD, chair, Radiology, who co-chairs the group overseeing the efforts with Chief Operating Officer Matt Van Vranken. “Providing our physicians with a fast, centralized imaging system accessible through one server will free them from struggling with outdated technology and communication methods, and will allow them to focus even more on their patients’ care.”