physician Archives

Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 33 hospitals and 385 clinics delivering best-in-quality care. Dr. T. Flint Porter is the Director of Intermountain Health’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division. As Intermountain Health looked to unify their MFM operations under the direction of Dr. Porter, they uncovered that many challenges were caused by outdated technology. A more connected ultrasound reporting system was needed to serve the needs of a growing, modern MFM division.

Challenge

System Crashes put Patient Data at Risk and Cost the Team Time and Effort

Frequent reporting crashes caused by an outdated ultrasound reporting system were creating challenges at Intermountain Health, including missed billings and workflow interruptions.

The ultrasound reporting application that was included with their machine hardware was unreliable. Some offices even had to begin keeping paper copies of reports and images, costing them too much time and threatening the accuracy of data.

The team needed a trusted solution that would adapt to their workflow and create consistency.

Solution

Automated Workflows Streamline Billing and Ultrasound Reporting

With the implementation of AS Software ultrasound reporting and image management, Intermountain Health was able to create automated, seamless workflows.

By customizing macros, AS Software was able to meet the unique needs and ever-changing guidelines of their MFM division. Billing processes were streamlined with automated coding directly from AS into the Oracle Cerner EHR, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

Quote

“I can’t emphasize what a big deal the billing is to me. It makes me more efficient. I have a better lifestyle because I’m not charting until 7 p.m. AS is more efficient, the images are included. Before, we had the reporting system and the PACS system separate.”
Dr. T. Flint Porter
Director, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division
Intermountain Health

Additionally, recommendations were standardized within AS, ensuring consistency in patient care and preventing confusion among referring providers.

Result

Time Savings and Quality Control

Without the need to toggle between separate systems and complete manual tasks, the Intermountain Health sonographers and physicians can focus on patient care and ensure they are capturing and extracting accurate data.

Now the MFM division has greater peace-of-mind knowing the AS Software system remains up-to-date, stable, and aligned with evolving best practices in the MFM field.

To explore how ultrasound reporting automation can drive revenue and streamline your clinical process, schedule a demo.

Manual Fatigue and Reporting Burdens

Without an automated ultrasound reporting system in use, clinicians at Perinatal Associates of New Mexico were limiting time with patients to manually type ultrasound reports and locally print them. The inefficient ultrasound documentation process was a large time burden hindering growth at the practice.

Solution

Reporting Efficiency and Automation

Dr. Ruma engaged AS Software to help drive efficiency by automating and organizing the reporting and review process:

Allowing all images to be easily accessed remotely, from anywhere in the world

Efficiently creating high-quality, succinct reports for referring providers that are easy to read

Quickly faxing and sending information through integration with Greenway EHR

Quote

“A dramatic amount of growth happened over the last decade because AS Software allows us to be highly efficient and organized, with great connectivity to electronic medical records.”
Dr. Michael Ruma
President, Perinatal Associates of New Mexico

Results

Increase in Patient Study Volume with Decreased Ultrasound Documentation Time

AS Software automation reduced the time to create a report from 5-7 minutes to 30-60 seconds, allowing the practice to grow, see more patients, and open additional offices and satellite sites. Over just the first year, the practice was able to increase study volume while decreasing documentation time by 86%*.

*This percentage is determined conservatively by taking the higher end of the initial timeframe—7 minutes, or 420 seconds—and comparing it to the higher end of the post-automation time of 60 seconds. By subtracting the post-automation time from the pre-automation time, dividing by the pre-automation time, and multiplying by 100, we find that each report now takes 360 seconds less to complete, multiplying savings across each report and significantly increasing the practice’s efficiency.

Learn more about reducing ultrasound documentation time with automation: Get a Demo