Everything You Need to Know About Radiology Information Systems

Contents

Radiology is the use of medical imaging to diagnose diseases. It includes imaging techniques such as X-ray, ultrasound, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and so forth. The advent of these technologies opened new vistas in healthcare as they empowered physicians to make accurate, informed diagnoses like never before and improved the quality of patients drastically.  

Radiology is integral to healthcare as it is a powerful diagnostic tool for just about every branch of medicine. Large hospitals include a dedicated radiology department that works with physicians and nurses to diagnose and treat patients successfully. With the increasing digitization of the healthcare industry, it has become common for hospitals and small practices to adopt digital platforms to streamline their workflows. In the case of radiology departments, radiology information systems or RIS serve as software platforms for radiology departments to manage their operations.  

But what is RIS, exactly? 

A radiology information system (RIS) acts as a comprehensive system that enables radiology departments at hospitals to manage workflows daily. Using it, radiologists can schedule scans, handle appointments, conduct scans, generate reports, manage bills, share patient results with corresponding doctors, track activities, etc. RIS software acts as a digital interface for doctors to manage workflows with a few clicks without pen and paper or physical documentation. Integrated healthcare systems at hospitals include radiology software that works seamlessly with other mobile  medical applications to ensure that teams of providers can cooperate efficiently to maximize the quality of patient care. 

As the software industry took off, custom healthcare solutions were a promising market. They began with rudimentary computer systems at hospitals running simple programs. These were used to track the attendance of clinical staff and which patient was in which part of the hospital. But as computers and software both grew in capabilities, there was an increasing push for digitization in every industry, healthcare included. As the potential size of the medical software and healthcare provider solutions market was realized, investors and entrepreneurs were hard at work innovating new products that would help the industry create value for all the stakeholders involved. 

The first RIS system focused on improving the efficiency of reporting and medical coding. As computing hardware and software grew in power, hospitals began investing in dedicated servers and IT infrastructure to digitize more and more of the workflows. As time passed and programming languages became more sophisticated, the RIS system became more and more versatile. There were varying degrees of automation and increasingly elaborate structures for workflows surrounding reporting and other activities. In light of the usefulness of radiology software in medical imaging, hospitals created the Radiology Information Systems Consortium (RISC) to act as an advisor to set down guidelines for the development of radiology information systems. The RISC eventually evolved into the Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine.  

This organization played a major role in developing additional features for radiological information systems. Over time, the features and functionalities of such software platforms grew with developments in programming, software, and the wave of digitization. As more and more workflows in healthcare got digitized, it became important for radiology information system software to work with all the other medical applications. Eventually, this gave way to comprehensive, integrated healthcare systems at hospitals where hospital information systems and radiology information systems (HIS and RIS in radiology) came to be commonly adopted across most, if not all, large hospitals.  

A radiology information platform has multiple features that are bound to vary depending on the company that makes it. But some features are common in speeding up the workflows at hospitals and boosting staff productivity. If you’re an administrator at a hospital looking for a good radiology solution to implement, there are a few features that you can look at before making a decision. Let’s see what they are – 

1. Document Management

It should come as no surprise that radiology departments at large hospitals are bound to deal with lots of documentation. These would typically include doctors’ prescriptions, patient history, and other information. The more patients the departments see, the greater the volume of documentation they would need to handle. Additionally, the images and results of scans would also need to be stored and processed to be shared with treating physicians of every patient. So, using a pen and paper system with physical documentation is undoubtedly slower and more cumbersome. 

But a radiology platform eliminates the burden of handling physical documentation with a user-friendly digital interface that enables radiologists to carry out activities with a few clicks. Storing and managing documents, sharing results with doctors, and more can be done with some clicks. Moreover, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Affordability Act) stipulates patient data security. A Radiology software’s document handling feature also secures patient data against unauthorized access. 

2. Patient Scheduling

Patient registration and scheduling is something that no hospital workflow can escape from. When a patient is prescribed a test or a scan, the relevant department needs to schedule it with the appropriate patient information. It is important to schedule procedures at larger hospitals as different patients are bound to have different things prescribed for them.  

A radiologic software enables radiologists to receive each patient’s prescribed test digitally and schedule the same. This process gives way to more systematic and streamlined operations where each patient is assigned a time slot. The radiologists don’t need to handle any physical paperwork or sheets to manage patient schedules, and they can view each day’s schedule on their screens and carry out day-to-day activities through the software. 

3.Billing

The number and type of scans that a patient needs to depend on their condition and what their doctor prescribed. After the scan has been completed, the scan’s information and its bill are automatically generated with a few clicks on a screen. The same can be attached to the rest of the patients’ bills throughout the treatment in case of admitted patients. This makes it easy for the hospital staff to tally the total bill of a patient and fill out claims. 

4. Patient Tracking

This feature is primarily the product of integrating radiologic software with electronic health records. Using this feature, radiologists can check a patient’s radiology history and draw insights. In the case of patients admitted, a person operating radiology information software can fetch the patient’s entire history of scans right from the time of admission and share it with a team of doctors through the platform. This saves time, but it also helps with the diagnosis. 

5. Inventory Management

This feature is more focused on the doctor’s side of things. Like any other branch of healthcare, or even like any other business, Radiology needs resources to operate. These resources or inventory need to be tracked and managed regularly for smooth functioning of the radiological processes. So, it becomes very important to keep track of the inventory to run the radiology department. This is where the feature of inventory management in a radiology application comes into play. It allows technicians and administrators to plan any upgrades or services of hardware and apparatus to ensure that everything runs without hindrance. One of the benefits of healthcare automation technologies used in radiology departments is that technicians receive automatic updates about any machine that needs servicing or parts replacement. 

6. Performance Tracking

This is one feature that has become extremely common across all industries. Healthcare is no different. Software systems at healthcare organizations often use various metrics to measure the performance of the staff and gain vital insights into which areas need improvement. In radiology, stats like patient experience, patient satisfaction, scan success rates, and efficiency are monitored regularly to measure performance. This, in turn, helps to determine where revenues are being lost and how operations can be optimized. Tracking the department’s performance is an excellent way of ensuring quality and patient satisfaction. 

A. Reports Distribution

Scans are conducted on a patient after a doctor’s prescription, and the scan results need to be sent out to the patient and the treating doctor. In case of serious conditions like accidents or other ailments where a team of doctors needs to collaborate, radiology applications help get imaging results to all the doctors quickly. The reports distribution function of radiology software helps boost the collaboration among doctors of varying specialties. This is useful if a particular case needs multiple doctors to come together to chart a strategy for surgery. This function, by itself, acts as an excellent tool for improving clinical decision support. 

B. Workflow Optimization

Digital platforms often help to streamline workflows at organizations from near industry. In the case of hospitals, they reduce the time and effort required for just about everything. Before implementing a radiology system software, doctors would write prescriptions for a scan, which the patients themselves or nurses would carry over to the radiology department. The radiologist would conduct the scan, print the results, send it over to the doctors, and get them to patients. But with a comprehensive hospital management system that also accommodates RIS radiology software, doctors can order a scan through the software, which will be received by the radiology department immediately. The radiologists then conduct the test and send the reports to the doctors without depending on physical paperwork. 

This benefit of not needing someone to and from departments saves lots of time and effort for hospitals. In other words, there is a remarkable improvement in the efficiency of workflows. With innovations in health, doctors can also receive reports and results on tablet computers and PDAs. 

C. Improved Patient Care

As mentioned earlier, an application for radiology departments at hospitals leads to better collaboration among teams of doctors, coupled with optimized workflows between doctors and radiologists. As a result, the quality of patient care is bound to improve as the scans are done more efficiently, and the results are viewed faster. This is especially true in dire emergencies such as car crashes or gunshots where there is grievous injury, and the patient’s life is in immediate danger. If doctors can have scans faster and view their results immediately, they can make informed decisions faster. 

D. Data Analytics

This is one of the most promising aspects of using software applications in healthcare settings. Healthcare analytics solutions have helped many industries to assess their operations and make improvements to boost productivity. But that requires operational data, which is best obtained if digital solutions are used in workflows. That is where radiology information systems provide the necessary operational data for analytics solutions to the process. 

Doing so gleans important insights into everyday operations and helps administrators and pathologists identify patterns in activities. As a result, they can find out where their work slacks off and how they correct that. By assessing various activities every day, healthcare  analytics solutions help organizations gain perspective about where they can make improvements and what needs to be done for better productivity. Data analytics is nothing short of revolutionary for every industry, and it has grown to become a major subset of the broader software industry.   

In addition to helping assess operational data, radiology image information systems also help clinical informatics solutions to analyze medical imaging data to help improve diagnosis. It is possible to train artificial intelligence or machine learning-powered algorithms to spot signs of disease much faster and more accurately than doctors by analyzing thousands or even hundreds of thousands of medical images. A smaller tiny tumor than a pea might be missed even by experienced doctors and radiologists, and automated AI systems would spot those better. This is just one example of the potential of analyzing healthcare data. It begins with radiology applications that can store data with appropriate markers and metadata to help grow smart, artificial intelligence algorithms.

I. Improved Turnaround Time

When a doctor orders a scan, the patient must go to the radiology department, where the staff enter the patient’s details and ask them to wait. In the meantime, other patients’ scans would be completed sequentially; each report generated, image printed, and sent to the doctor. This entire process involves physical documents that need to reach doctors. Of course, it is also when there is no radiology software at the hospital. In the absence of software technology, all the coordination, operation, planning, scheduling, and delivery of reports have to be done physically. 

But a digital platform empowers users to carry out tasks with some clicks, and what previously needed someone to store and deliver can be sent instantaneously. The resulting radiology information system workflow allows the department to see more patients in a day, and the patients, in turn, have to endure shorter wait times. This directly translates into increased revenues. 

II. Reduced Staffing Requirement

As mentioned earlier, the results of scans need to be stored and delivered to doctors and patients. At large hospitals, this would require a dedicated staff to handle the transport of physical documentation. But a radiology system application eliminates this need since the results and scanned images need not be carried out physically. They can be sent over to prescribing physicians and retrieved with a click from digital storage. So, software for radiology departments reduces staffing requirements, which means more profits. 

III. Improved Department Efficiency

Running a radiology department is like running any business. In other words, it involves managing people, resources, schedules, tasks, and so forth. Doing so without a software application is slow and costly, not to mention involving lots of physical documentation. But a radiology software platform empowers administrators to carry out all the management activities from a user-friendly digital interface. In other words, the head of a radiology department can track which doctors are prescribing most tests, which insurance companies pay the fastest, which ones deny or reject claims, the best performing technicians and radiologists, and so forth. Monitoring these facts daily empowers administrators to make informed decisions about deploying their resources.  

Furthermore, tracking performance enables managers to take measures to make improvements where they are needed. These would include staff training or re-training, hiring more people, upgrading equipment, partnering with other insurance payers, etc. Needless to elaborate, this is bound to increase revenues and reduce losses. 

IV. Lowered Repeat Scans

Scans sometimes tend to give results that are not definitive. In such cases, the patient has to undergo the scan once again. This could either be due to the nature of the patient’s condition, the mistake on the part of the technician, or some problem with the equipment. Either way, it will drain resources and time for the radiology center. But a radiology information platform streamlines the management activities and results in fewer losses in revenue due to wasteful unnecessities. While this might not earn greater revenues by itself, it certainly plugs leakage of revenues. 

To sum it up, a digital platform optimizes day-to-day activities and boosts the productivity of all aspects of operations. The best part – a radiology platform reduces staffing requirements. So, it is accurate to claim that such a software application lets radiology centers do more with less, literally. 

Integrated care management has been extremely important for better clinical outcomes. It means to care for the overall well-being of a person through pre-planning a sequence of medical services. In the wider context of patients admitted to hospitals, it can also mean multiple experts are coordinating to achieve favorable outcomes for a patient. It is especially applicable in case of serious injuries or diseases. 

With the advancing digitization of hospitals, software systems need to be able to integrate with other systems. Such integration fosters streamlined activities and better care for patients, not to mention improved staff productivity. System imaging software is a major part of the broader health system. The healthcare interoperability or exchange of information with other applications is made possible with established data standards such as Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM). 

HL7 enables the exchange of information between medical applications through a standardized messaging format. 

DICOM is useful for storing and transmitting medical images.      

Let’s have a look at some of the major system integrations for RIS imaging applications –  

a. Electronic Health Records

As the name indicates, electronic health records (EHR) are a digital repository of patients’ medical information. It consists of details like demographic data, history of diseases, medication, allergies, immunizations, drug abuse (if any), present health conditions, etc. Doctors need to get a complete picture of a patient’s health situation. An EHR can be the heart of a medical IT system, and all other health applications are connected.  

A radiology scheduling software integrated with an EHR platform enables medical images to be sent to the doctors who prescribed the scans. Once the images are in the electronic records, the treating doctor or team of doctors can access that image at any time during the entire course of the hospitalization.  

b. Patient Portal

A patient portal is a website where patients can securely log in to view their medical results and other health information. It can also serve as a patient engagement system since patients can know about their interactions with their doctors, their discharge summaries, medication, and so forth. So, with a radiology information system software integrated with a patient portal, patients would be able to access their radiology scans securely from anywhere with nothing more than an internet connection.     

Gone are the days when one would have to store their radiology reports. 

c. Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS)

A Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) is a medium for storing and accessing medical technologies from different imaging machines. In other words, it removes the need for physical storing, filing, or transporting medical images. A PACS enables medical technicians to transfer the images electronically. When radiology scheduling software is integrated with a PACS system, the exchange of images to and from various departments of hospitals is streamlined. 

A radiology application doesn’t directly communicate with the machines, but it does so with the PACS, which is connected directly to the machines. AS MENTIONED EARLIER, the PACS stores the scans in a format known as DICOM. Since a radiology information application handles the whole workflow of imaging from the moment a doctor prescribes a test at a hospital to the time the bill is paid, integration with a PACS is crucial to ensure a seamless flow of activity among departments. 

It is no secret that the information ecosystem at a hospital is chaotic. The larger a hospital, the more patients it will deal with, and subsequently, the greater the volume of information. It doesn’t need any explanation that the patients will suffer from a wide range of health problems and would need varying types of care, treatments, and testing. Moreover, the range of tests is bound to involve various documentation such as claims, coding, and billing. In light of this complexity, a digital platform to manage all of the above goes a long way in helping streamline things and improve the overall productivity of the hospital. That is where software platforms like HIS and RIS help. 

For patients who are admitted or those undergoing long-term care, such as those who suffer from chronic diseases, the quality across the care continuum depends largely on the integrity, reliability, and accuracy of health information. These factors are important for effective coordination of care, which might be limited in the absence of a centralized platform. The transfer of medical information in electronic health records might not be efficient due to documentation problems. HIS and RIS software effectively connect information technology and healthcare to improve patient monitoring, tracking, continuity of care, and patient engagement.  

Those factors fall under the purview of the hospital administration. A HIS solution acts as a consolidated interface where administrators can have a bird’s eye view of all the happenings at the hospital. Activities like patient scheduling, retrieving patient data, tracking various activities, medical billing, and so forth can all be governed using a HIS. Digitized workflows always improve the speed and productivity of everything. As a result, the speed and productivity of hospital workflows also increase dramatically.  

Hospital information systems are composed of multiple subsystems, each boosting clinical activities. Some of those subsystems include laboratory information systems, patient scheduling systems, health informatics, and radiology information systems. Let’s look at how their functions permeate into superior management at hospitals. 

As the name indicates, a laboratory information system helps govern laboratory operations. Things like scheduling tests, managing inventory, conducting all the testing activities, generating reports, and sending the reports over to the relevant doctors and patients are the things that laboratory platforms can accomplish. A pathologist can coordinate the activities of all the technicians, track blood samples, and manage all operations from a single interface.  

A patient scheduling system is a platform that enables hospital staff to manage all the appointments of patients for every doctor through one interface. Moreover, it also enables patients to book appointments using an app or a website with a few clicks. This organizes the appointments automatically without anyone having to make calls to confirm. 

Healthcare informatics analyses historical and current medical data to deduce patterns and reveal insights about health risks for patients, workflow efficiency for clinical activities, and billing and financial activities. Additionally, health informatics highlights which patients are at higher risk of certain diseases and empowers clinicians to provide preventive care. This ability to mount a preventive measure improves the long-term health of patients and reduces the cost of care. By detecting early warnings of impending disease, treatments can be started early before the disease progresses, thereby reducing mortality from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.       

A comprehensive hospital information system acts as a platform for all these subsystems and others to amalgamate and work seamlessly together. When the doctors, nurses, and other non-medical staff can accelerate their work and maximize their efficiency in the process, it stands to reason that the ultimate beneficiaries of these improvements are the patients themselves.    

Doctors can retrieve all the information about a certain patient, share it with other doctors, and coordinate care. Another staff can document each patient’s care and code it quickly, fill out claims with little to no errors and submit them automatically. Hospital administrators can use a HIS system to manage all the activities and generate detailed reports about everything at the hospital. It allows them to see where revenues are being lost, why certain departments have unhappy patients, which doctors have good approval, which payers reimburse better, and much more. 

To sum it up, using a comprehensive digital platform is ultimately beneficial for the medical organization, the patients, and the payers. In other words, all the stakeholders involved. 

The concept of a radiology system is not new. As the industry had begun digitizing, a few companies had innovated such a platform to help radiologists. But as the healthcare software industry ballooned, so did the number of companies offering this kind of software, along with others. So if you are an executive at a hospital looking for a RIS system to implement, it might get frustrating because of the multiple options. But there are a few things you can watch out for to make an informed decision. Let’s look at them in detail –  

1. The Size of the Organization

Software for a standalone radiology center will not be sufficient for larger organizations, namely big hospitals in metropolitan locations. While the former would have about half a dozen to ten staff and conduct relatively fewer scans each day, the latter would have probably had significantly more people working and would need to conduct dozens of scans each day.  

Needless to point out, this is perhaps the main factor that should help you narrow down the choice of vendors. If you are uncertain which kind of application is best suited for your organization, you can inquire with the in-house IT experts at the company you are considering. 

2. The Support Available

Any software platform would need timely support. It is also important to know the level and nature of the support that the company can provide. Find out if the support is available 24/7 and if experts arrive in-person to carry out relevant activities. Some healthcare software providers might offer remote support in video calls, while many others are even likely to have outsourced their tech support to countries in Asia. In the case of overseas support, the time zone and language might pose obstacles to efficiency and quality. 

Another factor worth considering is the initial installation and training for your staff. This is an important part of the whole implementation process as your staff must be proficient in using it. Ensure that the company you are purchasing the RIS software from offers comprehensive staff training.  

3. Track Record of the Company

 This rule applies to more or less every major purchase you make, irrespective of what it is and which industry. When investing money in a radiology system, take your time to find out about the company and its products. Read about the reviews it has received, both positive and negative, and try to visit other organizations that use its software. Doing so will offer a reliable picture of the company. An older company with seasoned management and a large clientele is reliable. But a newer company might also be a good choice as such companies are agile and might be faster on the delivery. There are pros and cons for both. 

4. Custom Software Vs. Pre-Built Software

Pre-built software is largely generic and applicable to most potential buyers. They are created after market research by a company, and their features would likely cover most of the needs of organizations. They are cheaper and also need less time for installation. But they are unlikely to match the needs of your organization exactly. Moreover, the workflows of pre-built software won’t match that of your radiology center, resulting in the staff having to adapt to it. 

On the other hand, a custom radiology application will be tailor-made to match your needs exactly. Its design and development will be carried out after assessing your center, which means it will take longer to deliver. Also, it is likely to be more expensive than pre-built software as the company would have had to devote resources just to build it for your needs. Another benefit is that your staff would need lesser time to get used to it. To sum it up, both pre-built and custom software have pros and cons. Anyone must weigh both of them before making a decision. 

5. Miscellaneous Costs

When you are told about the cost of radiology software, you are likely to be told about costs like license fees and installation charges, and other smaller costs. But this might not be the actual price of owning and operating the application, and the real costs might only become clear after you have had it installed and operated for some time. Things like software upgrades will incur additional costs, usually a percentage of the license fees. Moreover, integrating the software with those of other companies is also likely to cost you based on several integrated applications. You need to inquire about these charges before making a decision. These are some of the factors that must be taken into account if you purchase radiology software for your institution.  

i. Improved Care Coordination

Not all patients have problems that are solved straightforwardly, whether they have been admitted or offered outpatient treatment. Some medical cases might be complicated, like in cases of serious accidents, car crashes, gunshots, or aggressive cancers that might have spread to multiple organs. In such cases, a team of doctors across multiple specializations needs to collaborate to achieve favorable clinical outcomes. A radiology solution acts as a centralized repository for medical images that doctors can pull up to conduct their investigations. Moreover, doctors also care for more patients than before, with greater efficiency with seamless, one-touch access to medical images.  

ii. Inventory Management

Managing the inventory at any organization using pen and paper is efficient and prone to mistakes. But a digital radiology solution helps to keep track of the entire inventory in real-time and sends notifications if something needs to be ordered. Additionally, it can notify technicians about certain machines that might need routine maintenance. As a result, the entire process of managing inventory gets optimized. 

iii. Reduces Overhead

Activities like entering data, sending reports across, keeping track of inventory, and other activities are done with a few clicks on a screen because of a radiology platform. Needless to point out, it reduces the need for physical documentation and additional staff to handle it. As a result, the overhead needed to manage a radiology center gets reduced, and it directly translates into increased revenues. 

iv. Improves Overall Efficiency

As mentioned earlier, a digital platform for hospital operations reduces the turnaround time required for workflows. A radiology software does the same at radiology centers. All the activities, from scheduling scans to carrying them out, generating reports, sending them to the relevant physicians, and uploading them to patient portals, constitute the typical day at a radiology center. Radiology information software optimizes this entire process flow as it consolidates everything into one interface. That means that all activities mentioned above are accomplished with a few clicks on a screen. This speed and convenience bring greater efficiency and productivity for the staff, who can get more work done in less time and with fewer resources.   

v. Regulatory Compliance

It is stipulated by law that patient data must have a minimum degree of privacy. As radiology images are also patients’ health data, they require a level of privacy. A radiology information platform helps achieve HIPAA compliance by ensuring a layer of protection for the medical images stored in a format standardized by the industry. Moreover, as it acts as a central repository to facilitate the exchange of images, it also optimizes the activities in medical records management. 

To sum it up, a digital platform for radiology helps improve the productivity of day-to-day operations at radiology centers, helps improve the standard of care, and improves revenues. In other words, it benefits the patients, doctors, radiologists, and even the payers. 

OSP has had an excellent track record of providing the best software and services to the healthcare industry for more than a decade. Here’s why partnering with OSP is the right choice –  

Conclusion

Radiology information systems have become an integral part of the hospital IT infrastructure. By leveraging seamless electronic data exchange to integrate with other medical applications, radiology software makes an important component of comprehensive hospital systems. A centralized digital repository of medical information enables analytics to engender effective patient care also broader population health management protocols by public health experts. In short, a RIS information system is a must-have for hospitals and individual radiology centers.