Humber River Health Adds Imaging App in Command Center
Health Imaging
2 Nov 2018
Humber River Health Adds Imaging App in Command Center
Humber River Health (HRH) uses a command center that combines artificial and human intelligence to process and analyze real-time data from multiple sources across the hospital, including machines, devices, and EMRs. The command center technology is designed to improve workflow efficiencies, predict risk, orchestrate complex care, and foster continuous improvement.
Three years after deploying their command center, HRH added a new Tile (app) to manage medical imaging. The Tile tracks and displays the length of time a patient has been waiting for an imaging scan and the priorities for the test, and then prioritizes the scan based on the urgency and location of the exam. The Tile provides a comprehensive prioritization algorithm, accounting for patient characteristics, inpatient bed status, OR schedules, imaging schedules, and patients in the ED. The Tile is also able to pinpoint longer-than-expected turnaround times and highlight potential delays so that appropriate action can be taken.
Since the deployment of this Tile, inpatient CT scan turnaround times have improved by 8 percent, MRIs by 10 percent, and ultrasounds by 14 percent.
This imaging prioritization benefits both patients and physicians. “Before things were centralized and streamlined like they are now, I spent a lot of time calling around to different extensions and number,” said Susan Tory, MD, HRH’s command center medical director. “It was less clear on how I would go about expressing that this scan was urgent or should be a top priority.”
Humber River Health (HRH) uses a command center that combines artificial and human intelligence to process and analyze real-time data from multiple sources across the hospital, including machines, devices, and EMRs. The command center technology is designed to improve workflow efficiencies, predict risk, orchestrate complex care, and foster continuous improvement.
Three years after deploying their command center, HRH added a new Tile (app) to manage medical imaging. The Tile tracks and displays the length of time a patient has been waiting for an imaging scan and the priorities for the test, and then prioritizes the scan based on the urgency and location of the exam. The Tile provides a comprehensive prioritization algorithm, accounting for patient characteristics, inpatient bed status, OR schedules, imaging schedules, and patients in the ED. The Tile is also able to pinpoint longer-than-expected turnaround times and highlight potential delays so that appropriate action can be taken.
Since the deployment of this Tile, inpatient CT scan turnaround times have improved by 8 percent, MRIs by 10 percent, and ultrasounds by 14 percent.
This imaging prioritization benefits both patients and physicians. “Before things were centralized and streamlined like they are now, I spent a lot of time calling around to different extensions and number,” said Susan Tory, MD, HRH’s command center medical director. “It was less clear on how I would go about expressing that this scan was urgent or should be a top priority.”