Planetree Flagship Hospital Discovers a PACS that Pays for Itself
CoActiv EXAM-PACS Completes Digital Conversion in Three Weeks
With a full range of premium features, ultra-fast workflow – and a major about-face in management mindset – Griffin Hospital underwent a complete digital conversion when it installed a CoActiv EXAM-PACS in December 2005. “We were looking at new technologies, struggling with budget limitations – and never believed it would be possible. However, CoActiv implemented an entire first-class enterprise PACS and helped defray the cost of CR with my existing film budget,” said Christine Cooper, Radiology Director for Griffin Hospital.
Griffin Hospital is recognized nationally for its Planetree patient-centered model and industry-leading patient satisfaction ratings. A 160-bed facility in suburban Connecticut, Griffin Hospital operates a busy radiology department with a full range of modalities. It had been struggling for some time with an aging film processor for its film-based x-ray images and had made a decision to upgrade the technology.
“Our processor needed constant repairs and was a drain on our budget. Initially we wanted to go filmless, but after surveying the market, we all thought PACS was beyond our reach. As an alternative, we looked into CR and digital printing,” said Cooper. “Then we found that the cost of laser films also put this plan beyond our budget.”
CoActiv – High Performance, Cost-Effective
Searching for an answer, Cooper heard about CoActiv and its high-performance, cost-effective PACS solutions. “The Web-based robust PACS application came highly recommended,” she said. “Moreover, we discovered that CoActiv offered scalable pricing structures that were well within the means of a hospital of our size and budget.” With its unique marketplace position, CoActiv redefined the project.
Cooper presented management with CoActiv’s detailed financial projections, which showed that the system purchase price would amount to less than laser film supplies and that the existing film budget would fully cover the cost over a three-year period. The good news was that as an alternative to just CR with hard copy printing, the hospital could enjoy the benefits of filmless workflow across all modalities, while accruing funds to help defray the cost of the new CR. “I went back to management and explained that we actually had another option,” she said. Not surprisingly, everyone was on board immediately.
“CoActiv was the only PACS we found during our extensive search, which involved all the big names in PACS, that made financial sense,” commented Patrick Charmel, President of Griffin Hospital. “Its unique affordable price structure can probably open the door to digital workflow for any small- to medium-size hospital.”
The Griffin radiology staff is extremely pleased with the system. “CoActiv EXAM-PACS is very intuitive and easy to use. Fantastic support is only a phone call away. Loading images from multiple modalities is quick and easy,” said Laurie R. Margolis, MD, Griffin’s Chief of Radiology. “We switched all modalities to PACS simultaneously. It took less than a week for not only radiologists, but also the entire medical staff to realize the benefits of PACS and eliminate all film other than mammography. Radiologists, medical staff and our patients have benefited from the ease of enterprise-wide distribution of images.”
“The easy web-based communications feature for referring physicians has also been a great marketing tool,” noted Dan Tuccio, hospital marketing and physician support specialist.
Cutting edge technology at an affordable price – CoActiv is redefining PACS.