Collaborative Environment Yields Decade of Success for Teleradiology Practice

June 11, 2013

Watch the interview with Radsource

Intelerad’s industry-leading IntelePACS medical imaging solution creates a powerful competitive advantage for Radsource by enabling unrivaled quality, service and efficiency during a decade of explosive growth.

About Radsource

Radsource is an innovative, highly specialized teleradiology practice that provides musculoskeletal and neurological MRI interpretation services. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, Radsource reads 140,000 studies annually for customers spanning more than 50 locations across the United States.

Radsource is staffed by a nationally recognized team of 20 sub-specialized radiologists. Working remotely from various locations across the country, Radsource radiologists read and interpret studies in a highly collaborative environment enabled by Intelerad’s IntelePACS system.

Focus on Quality and Service Drives 25 Percent Annual Growth

Radsource has developed a powerful competitive advantage that has driven 20 to 25 percent annual growth since the practice’s inception in 2001. This competitive advantage hinges on three important tenets: quality, service, and technology.

From the beginning, Radsource has relied on technology from Intelerad to achieve the outstanding quality and service that differentiate the practice and drive its significant annual revenue growth. “The bottom line is that the Intelerad technology makes us better and faster,” says Mark Awh, M.D., Radsource president. “We have extreme reliability doing wide-area teleradiology across the country.”

Collaboration among Partners Yields Clinical and Competitive Advantage

All Radsource physicians use the IntelePACS integrated worklist and viewer. The intuitive, shared Intelerad Reporting Worklist optimally distributes the workload while providing the ability to collaborate on cases – thus leveraging all the expertise within the group to effect the highest quality interpretations.

“When I have an interesting or challenging case, I can push a button and get opinions within minutes from multiple experts around the country,” says Awh. “That's a really big clinical advantage for us.”

Regular Interaction with Referring Physicians Improves Patient Care

Radsource radiologists also utilize IntelePACS to collaborate on a daily basis with referring physicians. Using the many features of InteleViewer, radiologists and physicians in disparate locations can collaborate by viewing images simultaneously. Remote Radsource radiologists can even review cases in real-time, providing feedback during a patient’s MRI scan in order to direct the examination.

“The ability to interact clinically while viewing the images is really an important part of building that client relationship,” Awh says. High levels of interaction among the radiologists, as well as with their referring physicians, are key contributors to the unparalleled quality and service for which Radsource is known. The end result is greatly enhanced patient care.

Flexible, Collaborative Work Environment an Effective Recruiting Tool

To achieve such a high quality of service, Radsource relies heavily on its ability to attract top-notch talent. Michael Stadnick, M.D., Radsource medical director, cites the highly collaborative work environment, the expert specialization in sports orthopedics and neurological MRI imaging, and an ability to work from anywhere in the country as key factors in recruiting highly specialized experts to Radsource. “As a result of the technology that Intelerad provides, we are able to attract the best and the brightest in private practice as well as academics,” Stadnick says.

Fast Learning Curve Enables Immediate Productivity

Radsource appreciates the fast learning curve and user-friendly, intuitive design of the Intelerad tool set. New members of the practice can be immediately productive. “We are able to install these tools remotely, and in a matter of days the radiologists become proficient,” says Awh. In regards to setting up new customer facilities, Radsource can get a new site ‘up and running’ sending cases to them very quickly –usually within days.

Productivity and Efficiency Increase Revenues, Facilitate Growth

The flexibility and versatility of InteleViewer dramatically increases productivity at Radsource. “We read studies that originate from numerous locations, using many different types of MRI technology,” notes Awh. “InteleViewer takes images from any site and makes them efficient to navigate.” This high productivity and efficiency have directly influenced the practice’s revenues and growth.

A big component of the Radsource commitment to excellent service is report turnaround time; the practice promises to deliver reports within 24 hours, and in practice it is even faster. “We typically deliver reports in a few hours and STATs are handled within minutes, because of the Intelerad tools,” says Jeff Carden, chief operating officer of Radsource. The ability to provide same-day results with top quality and service has been a key factor for Radsource sports medicine clients treating high-profile athletes.

Flexible Report Generation Options Satisfy Diverse Customer Needs

IntelePACS flexible reporting options have also been critical to the success and growth of the practice. The Intelerad Dictation and Transcription modules have helped Radsource generate reports that accommodate a wide range of needs across a diverse customer base in a highly efficient, yet customized way.

A transition to Intelerad Multi-Method Reporting, which incorporates embedded voice recognition and structured reporting templates, is enhancing the efficiency of the reporting workflow, while fortifying the practice’s commitment to quality and service. “We’re able to turn around our reports even more quickly and with improved accuracy, I believe,” says Stadnick.

Intelerad Solutions are Key to Service Delivery

The strong relationship between Radsource and Intelerad spans nearly a decade. Radsource executives routinely recommend Intelerad technology to friends and colleagues, and they appreciate Intelerad’s willingness to understand and develop solutions for their business challenges. “Technology is key to how we deliver services,” Carden says, “and Intelerad has been the best technology partner we have, without a doubt.”

Watch the interview with Dr. Awh and other members of the Radsource organization to learn how Intelerad can increase your productivity and improve your level of patient care.