Enterprise Imaging is really about Workflow

Enterprise Imaging (EI) has become a ubiquitous term. Every Health Information Technology (HIT) company today claims they have the answer to EI. Apollo, as an HIT company, has gone so far as to include enterprise imaging in our company name. But what does EI really mean? Many of our competitors come from the Radiology PACS world. These legacy Radiology vendors have staked their claim that EI is defined as the ability to archive all images, no matter the department that creates them, into a Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA).  While this is one piece of an EI solution, it is the only issue that these companies have been addressing. Radiology is unique in that it has its own standard called DICOM, and that every clinical imaging event is ordered and scheduled. This works well for Radiology, but other departments within the hospital are not restricted to this rigid workflow nor a standard image type. How to provide a complete enterprise imaging strategy? Apollo believes the EI answer is WORKFLOW. To be a true EI solution, you must also address departmental workflows: how clinicians use our system to capture, view, store and make images available to other caregivers across the health system.  An example: today, a dermatologist may not know whether they want/need to take a picture until they have examined the patient. If a picture needs to be taken, and the current workflow used is the “Radiology” order-based workflow, there is a lengthy process:

1. they must create an order,
2. save the images locally,
3. print them and tape to a paper record,
4. then scan the document into the document management system, or
5. leave the images stored on a local workstation not easily accessible to anyone else or from within the electronic medical record (EMR).

This scenario is repeated across the hospital in department after department and is rife with issues. Using Apollo’s EI solution, arcc^®, it’s a simple process of taking the picture and electronically storing it in arcc. Apollo’s arcc enables encounter-based imaging workflows for each of the 45 specialties it supports. This workflow support enables the capture and viewing of these images with the appropriate patient metadata without the need for an order or all the steps listed in the example above. And, the images are easily available to all clinicians who need access to them, providing one patient view through one platform connecting the EMR. Read more about how Apollo arcc improves your clinical workflows and enables you to gain efficiencies throughout your health system.