RETHINKING RADIOLOGY AND LAB WORKFLOWS

CRITICAL TEST RESULTS MANAGEMENT

Speeding care by sending critical test results to ordering physicians quickly

• Improve care

• Reduce wasted time

• Protect patient information

• Avoid litigation

THE CHALLENGE: TIME TO DELIVER RESULTS

Results are critical - Sue’s physician must be notified

Results entered into hospital’s results

system

• After some phone tag, Radiology speaks with Dr. Jones about Sue

• Dr. Jones recognizes the need for immediate treatment

• He must contact the appropriate physician for immediate action

Sue’s physician, Dr. Jones orders a radiological exam

Radiology techs attempt to contact Dr.

Jones

25 MINUTES TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS:

START

SPEEDING RADIOLOGY RESULTS WITH SPOK

WITHOUT SPOK: 25 MINUTES TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS:

START

WITH SPOK: 3 MINUTES

Results entered into Spok CTRM system

• Results sent directly to physician's device

• Message transmitted securely

• Includes audit trail

• Physician is able to take immediate action

• Spok system can message directly to Sue’s nurse on her wireless IP phone

• Request can be made to administer appropriate medication

Sue’s physician, Dr. Jones orders a radiological exam

EMR Sue Smith

Results are critical - Sue’s physician must be notified

Radiologist selects and opens exam

from PACS worklist

Radiologist interprets image

and dictates exam report into VR

system

Radiologist initiates a Spok CTRM

critical finding by using voice command

indicating acuity level

Radiologist closes exam and moves

on

Spok CTRM automatically lifts

the impression with finding and acuity level from the HL7

result message

Spok sends notification to

Ordering Physician and other care team members

Ordering Physician accepts and calls back to consult with Radiologist

All activity saved in Spok audit trail

CRITICAL RESULTS WORKFLOW – VR SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Radiological exam is performed, and results are available via the PACS

.

RIS/PACS

THE CHALLENGE: TIME TO DELIVER CRITICAL LAB RESULTS

• After some phone tag, Lab speaks with Dr. Jones about Sue

• Dr. Jones recognizes the need for immediate treatment

• He must contact the appropriate physician for immediate action

WITHOUT SPOK: 25 MINUTES TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS:

START

Results entered into hospital’s results

system

Laboratory techs attempt to contact Dr.

Jones

Lab results are critical - ordering physician must be notified

.

Sue’s physician, Dr. Jones orders lab tests

SPEEDING CRITICAL LAB RESULTS WITH SPOK

• Results sent directly to physician's device

• Alert message is transmitted securely

• Physician is able to close the loop

• Alert will escalate in 15, 30, 60 min if the loop is not closed

• Escalation period can be configured by the hospital

• Results can be sent to multiple devices and multiple caregivers

WITHOUT SPOK: 25 MINUTES TIME TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS:

START

WITH SPOK: 3 MINUTES

Lab results are critical - ordering physician must be notified

.

Sue’s physician, Dr. Jones orders lab tests

EMR Audit Trail

LABORATORY WORKFLOW

ED Physician orders a

Laboratory exam & exam is completed

LIS flags laboratory results with an acuity level flag

Spok CTRM reviews all Laboratory

results for acuity flags

Spok CTRM identifies an acuity level that requires an alert & sends the alert to the

nurse

The Nurse receives the alert

notification on her mobile device

The Nurse views & acknowledges the alert on the mobile device using Spok

Mobile

The completed alert information is

sent back to the Spok CTRM server

All activity saved in Spok audit trail & the loop is closed

Laboratory exam is performed, and results are available via the LIS

.

LIS

Radiology / Cardiology / Pathology

AN ALERT CAN BE SENT TO: INFORMATION CAN INCLUDE:• Reports• Images• Annotations• Voice clips• Handwritten notes

ALERTS

Results entered into Spok CTRM system

CARE PROVIDER WEB ACCESS TO CTRM

Patient Care Team

Hospitalist

Techs

Nurses

ED Periop

ReferringPhysicians Specialist

s

`

CRITICAL TEST RESULTS MANAGEMENT

JOINT COMMISSIONNATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOAL #2Satisfies

Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers

MANAGE THE CTRM PROCESS

• CTRM Dashboard for PACS Admins and RADs

– View active notifications with status

• Instant Audit Trail

– Tracks all notifications through completion

– Export via HL7 to EMR to close the loop

• CTRM Analytics

– Sender/Receiver Activity Reports

– Average Time to Close Alerts

– Violations vs. Target Report

CASE STUDY:TUOMEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

• Improved patient care and sped treatment and discharge with faster communication of test results and incidental findings

• Reduced time physicians wasted calling around for test results or clarifications

• Developed a communications audit trail ready for Joint Commission visits“During the three months immediately following implementation, we saw an 11% improvement in patient discharge times.”

– José Bennett, PACS Administrator, Tuomey Healthcare System

CASE STUDY:QUINTE HEALTH CARE

• Send test results from the Laboratory, Radiology, and Cardiopulmonary departments to ordering physicians

• Streamline communication of results to ER physicians

– Improve ER patient flow and minimize ER wait times

“We chose [Spok] because it’s not a cookie-cutter solution; we can tailor it to QHC. It works in all the diagnostic areas we report for —Cardiopulmonary, Radiology, and the Laboratory, and will provide efficiencies in the diagnostics and ER departments alike.”

– Dianna Kiss, PACS Coordinator, Quinte Health Care

CASE STUDY:EMH HEALTHCARE

• Time savings and improved patient safety by alerting staff and posting results into the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR)

• Meets Joint Commission guidelines on communicating critical test results more efficiently“The ER doctors immediately see an alert on the EMR dashboard. As a result, communications are smoother and our ER process is now much less manual. We have also eliminated the need for radiology nurses to track reports and dictations, maintain a document log, and make calls to notify ER physicians.”

– Michelle Dossa, Manager, Department of Imaging Services, EMH Healthcare

LET’S GET IN TOUCH!

Learn more:

CASE STUDIES VIDEOS

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