In 1917, Dr. Jacob T. Bowman opened a small private hospital in Somerset rural Pennsylvania. It’s unlikely Dr. Bowman could have predicted that, decades later, the facility would be one of the country’s most technologically advanced and wired hospitals. Today, Somerset Hospital is constantly included on the Hospital & Health Networks “Most Wired” hospitals list and prides itself on being “wired for health.”

One major technology advancement at the 125-bed acute-care hospital is a recently implemented Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). When the medical imaging department was expanded in 2006, the hospital needed to address turnaround time and file room storage issues for its more than 74,000 imaging studies per year.

Watch this video to see how Somerset worked with the McKesson implementation team to roll out the Horizon Medical Imaging PACS and become a truly wired hospital. The team placed workstations not just in the radiology department, but also throughout the facility, including 5 operating room suites.

Today, physicians, surgeons and radiologists have immediate access to patient images. By the time it takes a patient to leave the hospital after an outpatient exam and drive to his or her physician’s office, the physician will have already received and reviewed the images.

Some of the experienced benefits include:

• Reduced patient waiting time
• Improved reporting accuracy
• Increased productivity

Before the PACS, the hospital’s goal was to be 90% filmless. But just 5 months after implementation, that goal was already exceeded. The original 3-room hospital from 1917 has truly become “wired for health.”

Related posts:

1. Medical Imaging System Helps Camden-Clark Memorial Improve Patient Care
2. 34 Iowa Healthcare Facilities Soon to Benefit From PACS Implementation
3. PACS Implementation Plan: A Little Marketing Goes A Long Way
4. PACS Benefits Concord Hospital by Increased Efficiency and Decreased Costs
5. CVIS Upgrade Speeds Diagnosis & Improves Patient Care at OSF HealthCare System Hospitals

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 11:09 am, is filed under Hospital Tours, PACS, RIS/PACS and tagged with Hospital & Health Networks, PACS, Picture Archiving and Communications System, Somerset Hospital, wired hospital.