Thanks to an upcoming launch of a new software application, called CentricityTM, enterprise-wide electronic distribution of images at the point of care will be possible at Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospitals and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The new system allows for electronic distribution of all medical images including radiology, cardiology, and many other imaging tests performed at the three institutions. Specialists and other care providers within Partners will shortly be able to access these images via computer using this web-based application developed by General Electric. Furthermore, patients will no longer have to carry bulky films from appointment to appointment. Rather, they are now given their images on a CD, which can be easily transported to other physicians’ offices and facilities outside of the Partners network.
This is the third step toward full utilization of electronic radiology data in order to provide resources at the time of clinical decision making. A collaborative effort between GE Medical Systems—a unit of the General Electric Company—and BWH’s Department of Radiology and Partners IS has made the system possible.
CentricityTM will be an integral tool as BWH moves to a more film-less environment,” said radiologist Ramin Khorasani, MD.
It was reported in early 2002, that caregivers would reap the benefits of PercipioTM (formerly referred to as Radvise), developed at BWH and licensed to Medicalis—a health care information management corporation—by which the order entry, scheduling and communication of test results is being automated. Then in the fall of 2002, BWH linked arms with EMC Corporation to establish the EMC Data Center for Information Imaging within BWH’s Center of Excellence for Evidence-Based Imaging. Now, complementing order entry, scheduling and storage, electronic images are easily accessible and will soon be readily available at the point of care.
“This innovative advancement will further improve the efficiency and quality of care provided at BWH and will result in faster and more accurate diagnoses, while ultimately reducing medical errors,” said Gary L. Gottlieb, MD, MBA, BWH president.
According to Khorasani, the cost savings generated by reducing film supplies, as well as transportation and handling needs for film, will be substantial.
Electronic distribution of images at the point of care will be possible at Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospitals Dana-Farber Cancer Institute