Texas Gulf Coast Medical Group Boosts Efficiency, Staff Productivity With Viztek PACS

RALEIGH, NC--(Marketwired - Sep 8, 2014) - Viztek, the leading provider of complete digital software and hardware diagnostic imaging solutions, today announced that Texas Gulf Coast Medical Group, a multi-specialty group based in Webster, Texas, has completed installation of the company's PACS solution. The facility, which sees anywhere from 400 to 500 patients per day and reads approximately 13,000 studies each year, has bolstered staff efficiency with the Viztek PACS implementation, speeding reporting for radiologists and enabling faster delivery to physicians by up to 24-hours.

The key to efficiency increases at the facility came in three main areas:

1. Enhanced workflow through advanced system design. Staff at the medical center were previously printing x-ray reports and then scanning them back into their EMR. Through Viztek PACS, the reports are able to flow directly into the EMR for display.
2. Integrated dictation / transcription and reporting for radiologists. With a third party providing transcription services to the facility, the importing of patient x-rays into the EMR had become a lengthy, four-day process. The integrated dictation offered through Viztek PACS allows radiologists to transcribe directly into the system, which also minimizes the need for additional editing and enables same-day reporting.
3. Faster, more accurate reporting. By expediting the process of sharing reports with physicians, as well as improved report accuracy via integrated dictation, overall productivity at the facility is significantly increased. 

"Advanced medical technologies that identify and remove unnecessary manual steps, such as printing and scanning reports, enable staff to direct more time and resources towards delivering high-quality care," said David LaGatella, IT Manager, Texas Gulf Coast Medical Group. "The transcription and reporting capabilities provided by the Viztek PACS have delivered relief to overall staff workload and invigorated morale, motivation, and best of all, efficiency. The physician satisfaction that comes as a result of our heightened pace of efficiency and shortened turnaround times can also lead to an increase in referrals directed to our facility."

Additional efficiencies for physicians are coming in the forms of advanced integrations and customization. Texas Gulf Coast anticipates utilizing the Viztek PACS which has an interface with the facility's EMR, to send reports directly to patients for display within their systems. For added ease-of-use, the PACS vendor also provides customizations, such as enabling a physician who reads a large number of chest exams to readily do comparisons on the fly.

"From the standpoint of those developing healthcare solutions, the technologies that allow for better care delivery and the people actually delivering that care must be approached as one and the same," said Steve Deaton, vice president, Viztek. "At Viztek, we are dedicated to creating solutions that not only advance healthcare technology but advance healthcare delivery altogether -- which requires innovations that support important components such as staff and deliver holistic improvements for the betterment efficiency, productivity and of course, patients."

While efficiency is essential for staff morale and patient care, the accuracy enabled by the Viztek PACS cannot be overlooked. Bypassing the need for manual entry of patient information, the Viztek solution enables an x-ray ordered from the EMR to go directly to the PACS and appear in the x-ray department's system. The process avoids the creation of multiple patient entries for the same patient due to potential errors, such as misspelled names or inverted numbers, and the minimization of such human error streamlines the delivery of high-quality, proper care to patients.

About Viztek

Viztek is a leading provider of complete digital software and hardware imaging solutions, backed by comprehensive training and support for the hospital and private practice markets. The company provides state-of-the-art, web-based Opal-RAD PACS and RIS, delivering advanced connectivity and functionality at an affordable price. The PACS and RIS solutions are complemented by Viztek's comprehensive line of CR and DR solutions, with DR panels that come in multiple configurations ranging from retrofit packages to complete new radiology rooms and mobile solutions. For more information, visit www.viztek.net.