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DR Systems Plays Key Role in Launch of Groundbreaking IT Care Data Exchange

Feb 10, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- February 10, 2005 Technology created by DR Systems (San Diego, Calif.) played a key role in developing the groundbreaking Santa Barbara County Care Data Exchange™ (CDE). The exchange is slated to go live at the end of this month. Two of its developers will speak about innovative IT organizations such as CDE, at the upcoming HIMSS conference.

Begun in 1998, CDE was the first effort in the nation to electronically share patient-specific information between multiple healthcare institutions in a region. It is also one of the first and best-known regional health information organizations (RHIOs) to begin operations.

DR Systems developed an interface that made radiology information from the three CDE members using the company’s PACS available to all other participating facilities. 

The interface underlines the proven flexibility of the company’s RIS/PACS. In the course of installing systems at more than 250 sites over 12 years, DR has developed interfaces with more than 30 different systems by approximately 20 different vendors. These systems include imaging modalities, hospital information systems (HIS), radiology information systems (RIS), PACS and transcription, dictation, billing, and voice recognition systems, among others.

“Web distribution of data is already a feature of our DR Systems PACS, so it was relatively simple for us to interface with the Care Data Exchange database,” said Alberto Kywi, Cottage Hospital’s CIO and a board member of the non-profit CDE. “This is just one more example of the well-thought-through design and flexibility of this PACS. We were impressed with the conceptual design of this PACS when we first selected it back in 1998, and its features continue to pay dividends to this day, both in our day-to-day operations and in innovative arrangements like CDE.”

The radiology information shared with CDE participants includes radiology images – along with associated reports and voice clips -- from three large facilities: Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Sansum Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic and Pueblo Radiology.  

DR Systems developed the interface so that authorized personnel from any CDE institution could access this information via a standard Internet connection. The system also allows physicians to remotely access patient information through the Internet. To protect confidentiality of patient information, the company also developed an authentication procedure involving single sign-in log-in accounts, so that access to patient information is restricted to the appropriate parties.

“The role that DR Systems played represents a very important position in the CDE and future exchanges because it follows the technology model that has a preferred status in CDE and future exchanges,” said Mike Skinner, the exchange’s executive director. “DR System’s web-based architecture makes it possible to share information with exchange members without actually sending data and storing it in the member’s database. And that eliminates the problem of maintaining and updating duplicate databases.”

The design is an efficient one, Skinner said: “If someone needs to see a DR image at Cottage Hospital, they access the Cottage PACS on the Web, log in, look at the image, and log out. That’s more efficient in every way then pushing data back and forth between members, which is essentially outdated, 1980s technology.”

Skinnner will speak about the Care Data Exchange at the annual conference of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), to be held Feb. 13-17 in Dallas. David Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., the federal government’s National Health Information Technology Coordinator, is a keynote speaker at the conference. Dr. Brailer oversaw the development of CDE in his former role as chairman and CEO of CareScience, a leading registry of medical errors and physician and hospital performance.

Dr. Brailer was appointed by President Bush to foster wider adoption of information technology in healthcare, with the ultimate goal being a standardized national health IT network. Regional organizations like CDE are essential to building a successful national healthcare IT infrastructure. The other two elements Brailer has identified are standardized means for information transfer and federal coordination of IT standards in government healthcare agencies.   

“The design of the DR Systems RIS/PACS is highly compatible with this expansive vision,” said Rick Porritt, DR Systems CEO.

“Flexibility and ease-of-interface are hallmarks of our RIS/PACS,” said Porritt. “You see this not only in the way we comfortably met the challenge of interfacing with CDE but also in the many interfaces we’ve developed with other vendors’ systems.”

Interfaces developed by DR Systems for its RIS/PACS encompass HL7 services, DICOM services, and the CCOW patient and user links. As an example of its single sign-on HIS/RIS interface capabilities, the company’s RIS/PACS interfaces seamlessly with both MAGIC and Client Server versions of the HIS by MEDITECH, an industry leader.

DR Systems has also developed interfaces for HIS/RIS products by such leading vendors as:

• Cerner®
• Eclypsis®
• GE Medical Systems
• IDX®
• McKesson/HBOC
• Per-Se Technologies®
• Siemens

About CDE

The Santa Barbara County Care Data Exchange is designed to improve the quality, clinical efficiency, and safety of healthcare by making inter- and intra-organizational, patient-specific information more readily available at the point of care. Information handled by the exchange -- reports, results, and personal health information -- is securely accessible to any authorized person, including the patient. The project is funded in part through a contract with the Foundation for eHealth Initiative and their cooperative agreement with HRSA, Office for the Advancement for Telehealth.  The contents of this press release are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of HRSA/OAT or FeHI.

About DR Systems

DR Systems, Inc. is the leading independent provider of film-free medical systems and paperless information systems for diagnostic imaging centers and hospitals. For 12 years, the company has helped more than 250 hospitals and imaging centers improve the management of patient information, eliminate film costs, and increase workflow speed, all while providing better clinical quality and patient care. DR Systems’ unified RIS/PACS utilizes “Smart Client” technology to maximize efficiency and ease of use. The company’s systems integrate numerous tools to improve financial performance and productivity, including: client-server and Web-based image, report and audio clip distribution; patented, automated hanging protocols for radiologists; and the report format preferences of individual referring physicians. For more information, call 800-794-5955 or visit www.dominator.com.