Rural Community Hospital Delivers Big-City Standard of Care

October 11, 2011

Watch the interview with Monroe County Medical Center

The InteleOne Ripple Effect: Kentucky’s Monroe County Medical Center

Patients of a small, 49-bed acute-care hospital in rural South Central Kentucky receive the same high-priority attention and have access to the same medical specialists as their counterparts in large population centers. This is made possible by Intelerad’s InteleOne distributed radiology solution, which has brought about dramatic changes. “Everything has improved,” said the hospital’s Director of Radiology Services, including turnaround times, quality of care and referral volume.

About Monroe County Medical Center

Located in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, Monroe County Medical Center serves more than 16,000 people in the area. In addition to the facility’s 49 beds, Monroe County Medical Center also offers numerous outpatient services. The closest healthcare hub in the region is 25 miles away in Glasgow, Kentucky.

Slow Radiology Turnaround Presents Improvement Opportunity

Medical imaging services at Monroe County Medical Center include CT, MRI, ultrasound, bone density, digital mammography, general X-ray and fluoroscopy. In the past, images were read by a radiology generalist, working part-time as a contractor, who was onsite for a few hours, three days a week.

In many cases, radiology reports required a 48-hour wait. Mammography results could take three to six days. Hospital administrators recognized that radiology operations presented a ripe opportunity for improving the quality of the patient experience.

InteleOne Enables New Approach with Enhanced Quality of Care

To that end, Monroe County Medical Center forged a relationship with a Chicago-based radiology service provider, Radiology Imaging Consultants, SC (RIC). This decision has vastly increased the radiology department’s service level and the overall quality of patient care. The RIC practice includes more than 75 radiologists with extensive clinical expertise in a broad range of sub-specialty areas. They provide final interpretations for a wide range of client facilities.

These highly-trained specialists use InteleOne, a distributed radiology solution from Intelerad that provides direct access to studies, priors and reports. InteleOne provides a single, highly productive environment in which RIC radiologists efficiently and collaboratively perform real-time professional readings, around the clock, regardless of where the radiologists or patients are located.

Dramatic Reductions in Turnaround Time Yield Complete Satisfaction

Today, thanks to RIC and InteleOne, emergency patients at Monroe County Medical Center receive results in less than 30 minutes. Non-emergency X-ray readings are turned around in two hours or less, rather than two days. Furthermore, the relationship with RIC gives Monroe County Medical Center patients and physicians unprecedented regular, seamless access to sub-specialty care and expertise.

Ronnie Davis, Director of Radiology Services for Monroe County Medical Center, is very satisfied with the changes resulting from the RIC partnership. “The improvement in services, the improvement in report turnaround time, the happiness of our physicians – everything has improved,” he says. “I would not hesitate to recommend RIC and InteleOne to other facilities.”

Volume and Service Level Increase While Need for IT Support Decreases

The effectiveness of Intelerad’s software and RIC’s services combine to yield new operational efficiencies for Monroe County Medical Center. With the dramatically reduced turnaround time, study volume is up and referrals from outside physicians are growing.

Additionally, the hospital’s IT staff, crediting the quality and reliability of Intelerad’s software, has more time to support other departments. With no downtime issues and minimal IT support requirements, “IT has less work now, because the system itself works so well,” says Davis.

Communication and Collaboration Enhanced by InteleOne

Monroe County Medical Center physicians appreciate the new efficiencies and collaboration opportunities introduced by InteleOne. With all patient studies, priors and reports centrally and securely accessible through the system, physicians and radiologists in disparate locations can collaborate with colleagues, simultaneously viewing the same images and data.

Ripple Effect Improves Patient Care in Rural Areas

By empowering RIC to provide high levels of service to clients, InteleOne creates a ripple effect of benefits for thousands of patients in rural areas. Small, community hospitals can now deliver the same standard of care as larger facilities. “The 25-bed hospitals get the same service that a 400-bed hospital gets,” says Leah McCarty, Physician Services Coordinator for RIC. McCarty has become accustomed to hospital administrators’ amazement at the service levels RIC is able provide its clients. “We can do amazing things,” McCarty says, “because we have the InteleOne system.”

Watch the interview with Monroe County Medical Center to learn how Intelerad can help you improve your level of patient care.

For more information: www.intelerad.com