*** IEE Winner***

Major Hospital’s Unique Approach to PACS Integration to MEDITECH’s PCI

Session: 236, MUSE 2003 International Conference, Hilton Hotel, Anaheim, CA USA

Friday: May 9 at 11:00 AM, Palos Verdes Room

Saturday: May 10 at 9:30 AM and 1:00 PM, Monterey Room

Presenter: Steve Aichinger, Director of Imaging

Organization: William S. Major Hospital, Shelbyville, Indiana USA

Audience: Radiology Management, Administration, Information Technology, PCI Coordinators

Abstract: The Holy Grail in hospital information management is the creation of a web accessible patient electronic medical record that includes all patient information such as test results from the lab, pharmacy histories, physician reports, nursing notes, patient orders, and especially the myriad of clinical images today’s diagnostic regimen produces.

Major Hospital, located in Shelbyville, Indiana, is a high tech, 89-bed hospital that has twice been named to H&HN Magazines “100 Most Wired Hospitals”. We found that virtually no traditional PACS vendor targets hospitals of Major’s size. Typical PACS vendors demand extremely high fees to achieve the level of PACS facility we require. We realized we could not afford to use a “conventional vendor” to provide our image archiving and integration needs. Because of budget constraints and the desire to support a 100% patient electronic medical record, we had to be creative in our approach to PACS.

In January 2000, Major Hospital became a development partner with a company that provided international telemedicine facilities to several large hospitals in New England since 1992. This company is OpenMed Technologies (located in Boston, MA). Our collaboration has resulted in a full featured, web-based, no compromise PACS facility that meets our extensive image archiving needs and cost us approximately 1/3 the quoted amount the lowest comparable conventional vendor provided.

This unique approach to PACS has provided Major Hospital with diagnostic soft copy and clinical review workstations throughout the hospital and has made available on our Internet website, a 100% inclusive PCI electronic medical record for all clinical staff to use when caring for our patients. We feel the system has no peer when you consider performance, reliability, costs, and image quality.

To implement and integrate PACS to MEDITECH, we developed an innovative project plan that launches the system in discrete phases, greatly reducing departmental disruption and stress while completing the project in weeks, not months or years.

OpenMed’s system has been live at Major Hospital for over 16 months and provides excellent PACS facilities. Image availability via MEDITECH’s PCI module has proven important to help physicians better communicate with their peers and provide quality patient care at Major Hospital.

Steve Aichinger, MCSE, MCP+I, A+, is Major Hospital’s Information Technology Systems Manager. Steve’s experience includes project management for the implementation of the MEDITECH systems at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin, IN and at Major Hospital in Shelbyville, IN. Steve was the project manager and design coordinator during the development of the OpenMed Technologies PACS system at Major and St. Clare hospitals. Steve’s background includes ten years as clinical engineer for the Department of General Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, four years as a patient accounting software consultant, and nine years in I.T. systems management for MEDITECH facilities.