RIS / PACS Implementation
Vendor Selection and Implementation
Our Client is a fully integrated delivery network (IDN), operating four hospitals and a multi-specialty physician group in Florida. They also offer numerous outpatient and wellness services, including those focused on aging, health and fitness, home care and hospice care.
Because the hospitals in the health system were using four different versions of the McKesson PACS/RIS, our client recognized the need to have their radiology teams work on a single enterprise-wide picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and support a radiology information system (RIS) that would allow better coordination and standardized viewing capabilities across the system.
Challenges:
To address the inconsistency of the radiology systems in use, it was determined that an assessment of the available tools would be required as a first step. Once a product selection was made, the monumental task of implementing newly selected systems would follow. Our client needed support both developing a Request for Proposal (Phase 1) and deploying solutions provided by the successful bidders (Phase 2). The health system leadership looked to iMethods to guide them through these processes.
Results:
To assist with the development of an RFP for both PACS and RIS solutions, iMethods provided a Senior PACS/RIS Project Manager. Once the RFP was written and distributed, this same consultant evaluated vendor responses, coordinated onsite product demonstrations and negotiated pricing and contracts on behalf of the health system. This assessment process took approximately 10 months, resulting in the selection of the McKesson PACS and the Siemens Syngo RIS.
Following product selection, iMethods continued to support our client’s goals by working to implement the new systems and migrate data into the new platforms (Phase 2). During this part of the project, iMethods provided six PACS/RIS consultants, two Syngo Cardiology resources, two McKesson PACS resources (for implementation and support of the system builds), and two general PACS resources to provide support of the legacy system and ongoing system maintenance.
The implementation phase of the project took approximately 14 months to complete, resulting in a far more streamlined radiology workflow. Incorporating traditional imaging, the project also incorporated upgrades unique to cardiology, mammography and 3D imaging and supported enhanced enterprise-wide reporting and image lifecycle management.
