August 14, 2009
Eliminates Hard Copy File Management and Dual–Format Reading After Digital Imaging Conversion
North Bay Healthcare (Fairfield, CA) has selected Radiology’s Total Archiving Program (TAP) for the management and strategic digitalization of hard copy medical images, following the hospital group’s conversion to a digital imaging environment. According to SOURCECORP’s Adrian Riggs, “The innovative TAP solution helped solve North Bay’s ongoing facility space shortage and also eliminated the complexities of image interpretation in a hybrid environment following conversion to digital modalities. We searched for a solution that would address all our needs and found SOURCECORP’s TAP provided an answer that was unique in the industry.”
North Bay comprises three imaging facilities all in the Sacramento area, including two hospitals and a free–standing imaging center offering digital mammography.
Riggs notes that the Radiology TAP program provided the organization with a complete offsite file management and conversion solution after all three sites converted to a digital environment. The TAP solution manages all North Bay hard copy prior exams in a secure file storage warehouse and converts the images to digital format as needed. Exams are then transmitted to the imaging site over a secure Internet connection, providing ultra–fast access and eliminating the difficulties of comparing hard copy priors with current soft copy images. Following transmission, North Bay stores and manages these images as part of their PACS.
Even prior to its conversion, North Bay was able to archive only 20% of its imaging studies onsite, while the majority was kept in an offsite warehouse. In addition to administrative staff to manage its files on– and off–site, the facility employed a full–time courier to transport the images between the hospital and the file room.
When, as part of its general facilities enhancements, North Bay also was expanding its emergency room (ER), it needed to utilize all the space taken up by the file room and began looking at more traditional off–site file storage solutions. However, the SOURCECORP solution supported its goals on multiple levels.
Currently, all hard copy storage has been eliminated from the three facilities. Using the TAP solution, the hospital simply requests a study from the SOURCECORP warehouse through a secure web portal. The image file is pulled, scanned and sent securely to the facility. North Bay uses SOURCECORP’s standard TAP solution for its general radiology images and MammoTAP, which includes special features to accommodate large file sizes, for its mammography images.
According to Riggs, the new ER is up and running, and everyone in radiology is extremely pleased with the results, from physicians and technologists to administrative and purchasing staff.
About SOURCECORP®
SOURCECORP, Incorporated provides business process outsourcing solutions and specialized high value consulting services to clients throughout the U.S. SOURCECORP focuses on business processes in information–intensive industries including commercial, financial, government, healthcare, and legal. Headquartered in Dallas, the Company serves clients throughout the United States through a network of locations in the U.S., Mexico, Philippines and India.