RadStream Optimizes Radiology Workflow
Patients at Cincinnati Children's who need X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and other imaging services are now triaged more quickly and efficiently with the first-of-its-kind system called RadStream.
RadStream was developed by the Radiology Informatics Research Core at Cincinnati Children's in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati College of Business. Initially built to triage emergency department patients more efficiently, RadStream has grown into a hospital-wide effort to:
- Deliver radiology services more quickly
- Support paperless workflow
- Triage radiology exams accurately and automatically
- Enhance communication
- Provide documentation of communications with referring physicians and other health care providers
The new system creates a more seamless workflow for all exams coming in from around the medical center, including all referring departments and outpatient locations.
Before RadStream, incoming imaging requests arrived by fax and often patients were treated on a first-come, first-served basis. Like in most radiology departments, it was difficult to get a good overview of minute-to-minute operations. A technologist at an outpatient center might call the main hospital to expedite reading of an image without realizing the radiologist was occupied with another case. Well-intentioned phone calls caused frequent interruptions to the workflow, and radiologists weren't able to work at their peak efficiency.
In addition, because so many STAT exams were being requested, it was difficult for radiologists to prioritize cases. Therefore the capability to prioritize patients automatically was built into the system. Employing a unique algorithm created in collaboration with Craig Froehle, PhD, operations management faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Business, RadStream prioritizes cases based on a patient's medical severity; psychological state; and various operational factors, like patient wait times and departmental goals for turnaround times, that can affect the delivery of care.
Because RadStream automates conveyance of critical results, interruptions to radiologists were reduced 23 percent – saving the work of two full-time radiologists per year.
Overall process flow times were significantly reduced as well. On average, 61 minutes were saved in exam reading times across all patient classes studied. Improvements were most notable in patients from our emergency department and outpatient locations. Exams in our emergency department were read 21 minutes faster on average, with nearly 80 percent read in under an hour. With RadStream, we were able to cut nearly 90 minutes from outpatient exam reading times, and roughly two-thirds of all outpatient exams are now read within an hour. Overall, department-wide median report reading times for outpatient studies decreased by 58 percent.
"We built not only automated case triage, but also communication elements to decrease workflow interruptions," says Mark Halsted, MD, associate professor of radiology, chief of the Radiology Informatics Research Core at Cincinnati Children's and RadStream project leader. "RadStream combines these tools so we aren't simply speeding interpretation of the most urgent cases at the expense of routine ones. Instead, RadStream improves all aspects of our workflow, and routine studies are also reported more quickly."
Licensed to AMICAS, Inc. in 2006, RadStream is scheduled to be available to pediatric and adult hospitals and freestanding imaging centers in 2007. "Collaborating with a vendor to license the product was something we always wanted to do," says Dr. Halsted. "Widespread distribution will maximize the impact we make on health care."
