RSNA Preview: DR Systems’ to Feature Talks on DRA, Mammograms with PACS
CHICAGO – Activities at the DR Systems booth at RSNA 2007 will include:
| • | A talk by Murray Reicher, M.D., on how more efficient healthcare information technology (IT) can overcome lower reimbursements for medical imaging; |
| • | A presentation by Michael Trambert, M.D., on the benefits of integrating mammography with RIS/PACS; |
| • | Discussion of data migration by Jennifer Nelson, DR Systems Manager of Project Management; |
| • | Demonstrations of the company’s Release 8 software for its Unity RIS/PACS platform. |
DR Systems, the leading independent provider of RIS/PACS solutions, will be exhibiting at Booth 2165 in the South Building, Hall A from Sunday, Nov. 25 to Thursday, Nov. 29.
The prestigious KLAS® rating service rated DR Systems as the highest scoring vendor across all healthcare informatics categories in the 2006 "Top 20: 2006 Best in KLAS report." For the second year in a row, DR Systems was also rated the top PACS company in the KLAS “Top 20 Mid-Year Report.” These rankings top all other PACS providers including McKesson, GE Medical Systems, Siemens, Philips, and Amicas.
The presentations by Drs. Reicher and Trambert will be held at the DR Systems booth. Dr. Reicher’s talk is titled “How Facilities Can Defend against Lower Reimbursements Due to the DRA.” Dr. Trambert will be speaking on "Top 10 Consideration for FFDM and PACS."
Dr. Reicher’s presentation will address the financial challenge facing imaging centers due to the federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), which cuts federal reimbursements for radiology. The DRA is just the latest event in a continuing trend towards lower reimbursements throughout the U.S. healthcare economy. Dr. Reicher will show how centers can compensate for this trend by implementing more efficient, customer-oriented IT.
The second speaker, Dr. Trambert, is one of the first radiologists in the country to read digital mammograms on PACS. He began reading exclusively on a DR Systems RIS/PACS in early 2006 at the Sansum Clinic, a multispecialty outpatient clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif. Digital mammograms have been archived on the PACS and Web-distributed from it since 2003.
Dr. Trambert will describe the multiple clinical and business advantages created by total mammography/PACS integration. Other, earlier approaches required radiologists to read mammograms on a more expensive, dedicated standalone digital workstation sold by digital mammography vendors.
Both Dr. Reicher’s and Dr. Trambert’s presentations will take place at the company’s booth every day from Sunday, Nov. 25 through Thursday, Nov. 29.
Dr. Reicher is the chairman and cofounder of DR Systems. Dr. Trambert is lead radiologist for PACS reengineering at Cottage Health System and the Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Jennifer Nelson, DR Systems Project Management Manager, will focus on the company’s expertise in data migration – that is, the electronic transfer of patient exam files from a legacy PACS to a new DR Systems Unity RIS/PACS.
A notoriously problematic process, data migration generally takes several months at least, and often more than a year. During that time, radiologists often have to endure the inconvenience of switching between the two PACS to compare current studies stored on the new PACS with prior studies stored on the old one. Switching between PACS also impedes radiologist productivity and slows diagnosis and treatment.
DR System is an industry leader in accomplishing migrations without the usual problems. For instance, the migration it managed at Olympic Medical Center (OMC), of Port Angeles, Wash. took only three weeks. Roughly 36,000 exams were migrated in that time. All but a few dozen exams were available to radiologists the instant the PACS went live.
The latest Unity RIS/PAC 8 software includes several mammography-related capabilities:
| • | Mammography Tracking – tracks breast imaging outcomes and follow-up tasks |
| • | Mammography Image Sorting - automatically sorts comparison exams |
| • | Mammography CAD - supports display over digital mammography image of CAD (Computer Aided Detection) markers |
| • | Mammography Reporting - supports BI-RADS assessments, recommendations, and findings The software also encompasses many new non-mammography features and system-wide capabilities, as well as enhancements to the DR Scheduler, RIS, Dominator Diagnostic Reading Workstation, Instant Reporter, Management Reports, and Guardian Archive. |
About DR Systems
DR Systems, Inc. is the leading independent provider of medical imaging and information systems for diagnostic imaging centers and hospitals. For more than 15 years, the company has helped more than 500 hospitals and imaging center sites improve the management of patient information, eliminate film costs, and increase workflow speed, all while providing better clinical quality and patient care.
The company’s Unity RIS/PACS integrates numerous tools to improve financial performance and productivity, including: Web-based scheduling, 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.
