Feature | January 24, 2007

Digital Dozen

IT-savvy heart hospitals that are worth investigating and emulating when pursuing digital enlightenment.

1. Arizona Heart Institute and Hospital (Phoenix, AZ)
Having embraced digital information as a method of patient and physician instruction, Arizona Heart has been fully integrated with Apple iPod technology. For a year the hospital has used iPods loaded with video programs directed toward patient education.

2. Cabrini Medical Center (New York City, NY)
A nonprofit community hospital, Cabrini Medical Center is a leader in digital medical imaging. The facility uses some of the most advanced 3-D volume rendering workstations such as Siemens Leonardo and TeraRecon’s AquariusNet. With the ImageGrid PACS appliance by Candelis they have completely automated their workflow and now have continuous on-line access to their patients’ studies.

3. Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH)
With large volumes of 100 to 200 studies per day, CC is using ProSolv as a viewing system and is developing a digital reporting system to create an integrated viewing and reporting system. The research staff uses the ProSolv reporting system to create customized research reports and presentation using a variety of ProSolv presentation tools. Interfaces are also being implemented to the billing, scheduling/ADT and HIS.

4. George Washington University Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
Facilitated by HeartLab technology, cath lab images are online and a reporting system is in development — the EP lab is next in line to be tied in. Physicians sitting on the third floor cardiac stepdown unit can review cath, echo and soon EP studies. The hospital is also equipped with the Soarian electronic medical record, which enables physicians to review records and images remotely, as well as transmit communication to referring physicians.

5. The Heart Center of Indiana (Indianapolis, IN)
THCI is an all-digital facility focused on cardiovascular disease. Together with Siemens, THCI instituted a one-stop IS system whose sweeping efficiencies include: 1) immediate access to images and results from any PC linked to the network; 2) pertinent patient information at clinicians’ fingertips through a system-wide electronic patient record; 3) bedside monitors for instant access to individual patient's medical information; and 4) bar code technology to administer between 40,000 and 50,000 doses of drugs each month.

6. THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano (Plano, TX)
As the first healthcare organization to go live on GE Healthcare’s Centricity Enterprise ASP solution, THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano, opening this month, will enjoy access to enterprise-wide clinical and financial applications using leading digital healthcare applications such as computerized order processing, nursing and physician documentation and electronic medication administration record (MAR), patient management, accounting, registration and scheduling.

7. MeritCare Health System (Fargo, ND)
MeritCare has taken cardiology into a full EMR including echo, cardiac cath, EKG, pacemaker checks, stress, holter, etc. MeritCare physicians wanted to be able to have fast access to patient records and the ability to quickly generate reports from any location. The objectives behind moving to a CVIS were to improve patient care and increase the productivity of its cardiologists.

8. The Indiana Heart Hospital (Indianapolis, IN)
In 2003, Community Health Network unveiled The Indiana Heart Hospital, the world’s first all-digital hospital, which later served as a prototype for other digital healthcare facilities. Last year the network announced implementation plans to digitize its Anderson, IN, facility, which together with the already digitized Community Hospital East, Community Hospital North, Community Hospital South and The Indiana Heart Hospital, make Community Health Network a completely digital integrated delivery network.

9. Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital (Lincoln, NE)
An all-digital infrastructure allows staff to focus on patient care, not paperwork. The hospital studied the entire patient care process, devising processes that would create a comfortable and efficient progression through the facility for patients, as well as optimal workflow for clinicians. The all-digital environment is comprised of Siemens Soarian Cardiology and Soarian Clinical Access, as well as Siemens' clinical, pharmacy, lab, patient monitoring, PACS and networking solutions, forming the technological backbone of the electronic health record (EHR).

10. Ochsner Clinic Foundation, (New Orleans, LA)
Because Cardiology Informatics personnel had the foresight to partner with Heartlab, cardiology services remained largely operational throughout the Katrina hurricane. Heartlab's Remote Archive is designed to create backup data that can be accessed during a system outage and ensures that clinicians can retrieve cardiology exams at any time during an emergency.

11. Pepin Heart Hospital (Tampa, FL)
By combining clinical healthcare information solutions with cutting-edge diagnostics, cardiovascular and patient monitoring systems — all from GE — this $50-million, 125,000- square-foot digital facility provides physicians with quick and comprehensive diagnostic tools to treat cardiovascular disease in a paper-light, filmless and wireless environment where information flows seamlessly from patient admission through discharge.

12. Providence Heart and Vascular Institute (PHVI) (Portland, OR)
PHVI has a respected reputation of implementing some of the most advanced technology systems available within healthcare today, including a recent recognition as one of the “Top 100 Most Wired Health Care Systems”. The facility’s implementation of the Agfa's HeartLab system is an example of how a leading healthcare system has fully integrated technology and functional capabilities into its five major hospital campuses.


Subscribe Now