Diversified Radiology of Colorado (DRC) provides 24/7 subspecialty image interpretation and intervention to patients and referring physicians. Services span multiple radiology specialties including breast imaging, interventional radiology, musculoskeletal radiology, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, and pediatric radiology. They also provide teleradiology services, reading images from all over the US.
The majority of DRC’s radiologists concentrate in a subspecialty within radiology. DRC has more than 60 radiologists and approximately 40 employees in administrative and support roles.
The Challenge
Several years ago, DRC began growing and serving larger numbers of radiologists and health systems around the nation. As its footprint expanded, workflows grew more complicated and the need for an enterprise solution became a top priority. Depending on the level of complexity, bringing on a new partner could take up to six months. “We needed to minimize the time it took to set up an interface,” said David Vazquez, Software Engineer for DRC. The group, which had previously been leaning on its PACS vendor to build interfaces, also wanted to control their own data without depending on a vendor.
In addition, DRC needed an interoperability platform that would allow them to make changes quickly when their partners required it, such during an RIS upgrade or an EMR migration. Vazquez explained, “Sometimes, hospitals we work with will change systems or do upgrades to their RIS systems without telling us until the next day when reports start failing, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah. Can you change that?’”
Furthermore, DRC wanted a platform that would allow them to create workflows tailored to their partners’ needs and infrastructure. “We want radiologists, techs, and ED staff to feel like they’re part of our group,” Vazquez said.
View the Case Study to learn how Diversified Radiology of Colorado approached the challenge, the steps they took to implement the solution, and the resulting outcome.
