They've got I.T. Goin' On
Although RadIT has already helped move the Radiology Department to a higher level of productivity and innovation, this is just the beginning. Over the next several years, RadIT plans to complete several key initiatives that will transition the Radiology Department to a paperless, seamless, digital world with maximum system integration, placing the Radiology Department on the cutting edge of information technology and high-quality patient care. One of the immediate goals of RadIT is to move the department from the current RIS, IDXrad, to a new Siemens imaging suite, Syngo Workflow, which features a merged PACS and RIS platform. In essence, this suite will integrate several products, including PACS, RIS, the speech recognition system, 3D functionality, and document scanning software, thereby providing a single amalgam of powerful tools that will enhance productivity and efficiency for radiologists and support staff. It will allow clinicians access to all patient information, examinations, test results, and relevant databases from a single PC at any location. Achieving this is an enormous and highly complex task that will require about 18 months to two years to complete. In Dr. Sanger’s words, it is equivalent to “performing a CNS transplant on the department.”
Largely through the efforts of Matt Lisowski, the Department of Radiology web master, RadIT is continually improving the department’s website, realizing that it is a crucial portal into the department from the world outside of NYU, as well as an up-todate information hub for faculty, residents, resident candidates, patients, and referring clinicians. Continued expansion and enhancement of the department’s versatile RDR is also planned, with intentions to implement a real-time interface to the new Siemens RIS and to add interfaces to the department’s billing systems. Building on the initial success of the departmental Quality Assurance and Patient Safety Report Card, which itself was a direct result of the flexibility of the Data Repository, Dr. Sanger plans to broaden its scope with additional feeds and metrics. These innovations will elevate this powerful decision support tool to a new plateau, further improving the department’s ability to identify opportunities for improvement.
In summation, RadIT strives to enable the Radiology Department to function at maximum effectiveness, to provide tools for optimum productivity, to eliminate paper-based systems and time-wasting glitches, and to continually improve the quality of life for individual radiologists and staff. To fulfill these aspirations and goals, and given that radiology is the single most technology-driven field in medicine, RadIT will necessarily remain separate and distinct from the Medical Center I.T. group. It is believed that this will afford it the level of agility and responsiveness necessary to provide the kind of customized, around-the-clock attention that such an ambitious agenda demands. However, Dr. Sanger and Mr. Kirpekar clearly recognize the need to align and coordinate these initiatives with those of the Medical Center, and it is through their excellent relationships with Medical Center I.T. leadership that this delicate balance has been achieved.
That I.T. is a critical component of all radiology departments is a given. What defies standard expectations at NYU, however, is the level of expertise, the dedication and commitment, and finally, the visionary creativity of the team assembled and led by Dr. Sanger. Having established NYU RadIT’s place as the forerunner in the field, the team rarely wastes the time to look over their shoulders at the competition — their impetus is entirely focused on not wasting time.
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