Depends on Rimage for Medical Image Distribution
“We were very excited that we no longer had to write the patient information on the CD with a permanent marker.”
Customer
Medical Imaging Center in the Southwest U.S.
Challenge
- Store, access and distribute images efficiently and reliably
- Produce accurate discs quickly
- Keep up with high-demand
Solution
- Professional Disc Publishing System
- PacsCube Software Suite
A medical imaging center, located in the southwestern United States, has an outpatient radiology facility focused on providing exceptional healthcare. The facility is managed and staffed by more than 40 dedicated, board-certified radiologists and supported by more than 200 skilled technologists and other para-medical professionals. The center has been servicing the community for more than two decades, with ten separate locations for imaging. By utilizing innovative technology, the center is constantly improving their quality of service. To meet the high demand for medical image distribution across all locations and provide superior care to their customers, the center needed a system that delivered high-quality discs to distribute patient images efficiently.
“We were very excited that we no longer had to write the patient information on the CD with a permanent marker.”
Department Head, PACS Administrator
The Challenge
The challenge faced by the medical imaging center was accessing and distributing images in an efficient and timely manner to uphold their standard for patient care. Thousands of digital images are created and stored on a network server. System wide they produce hundreds of unique discs daily, each containing patient demographics, reports, and images. These discs must be created quickly, accurately, and professionally. “Patients wait to take their images with them, after their study has been completed,” said the PACS administrator for the medical imaging center. “Before implementing the Rimage solution, we could only burn one CD at a time. The process could take between 30 and 60 minutes per disc,” she explained. “Once the CD was created, the technologist manually wrote the patient’s name on the disc with a permanent marker.” The center evaluated other disc publishing solutions, but found that none of them could match the speed, throughput or reliability of the Professional disc publishing system and PacsCube Software Suite.
The Solution
The medical imaging center purchased their first Rimage system and quickly added two more systems that same year and a fourth the following year. According to the PACS administrator, the systems have created more than 6,000 discs with minimal downtime. “These disc publishers have allowed us to deliver a fast and accurate product to our customers, while maintaining a high level of quality and customer care they are accustomed to,” she stated. What was once a labor-intensive process is now an automated system that saves time and money.
The Results
The medical imaging center has been able to increase its CD throughput while decreasing the number of staff needed to produce discs. With the Rimage Professional disc publishing system and PacsCube software, they can create discs in less than five minutes—an average savings of 4.5 hours per day. Rimage’s automated disc publishing technology also allows them to process multiple jobs and prioritize urgent exams. Once users submit jobs to the Rimage system, it continuously produces discs without further intervention. This enhanced workflow allows technologists to focus on other important tasks.
Direct-to-Disc Printing
For the past two years, the center has used the Rimage Prism™ Printer to create direct-to-disc imprints for its CD duplication. According to the administrator, the department was able to easily configure the print design to add its company logo to the printed disc label. “We were very excited that we no longer had to write the patient information on the disc with a permanent marker,” she exclaimed. “We can print durable, professional and accurate images and text directly to the disc surface.” Not only is the direct-to-disc printing unalterable, it guarantees that patient data stored on the disc matches the demographics imprinted on the outside of the disc.
Audit Trails Aid in Medical Compliance (HIPPA)
The Rimage Professional disc publishing system uniquely identifies each disc with an audit trail number, which is also located on the surface of the disc. Any user with the proper credentials can log into the PacsCube system and access management reports. This professional technology allows the user to identify every single disc that has been created, the specific user who created the disc, and the patient data that is contained on the discs. This audit trail identification aids in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance.
Superior Customer Care
The medical imaging center strives to provide the best service possible. The Rimage Professional disc publishing system simplifies the day-to-day operations and streamlines the workflow so employees can continue to focus on their primary goal: superior customer care.
“This system has allowed us to deliver a fast and accurate product to our customers maintaining the high level of quality and customer care they are accustomed to.”
Department Head, PACS Administrator