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Merge Healthcare and HealthPartners announced the completion of a project to integrate a radiology PACS

Merge Healthcare (Nasdaq: MRGE), a health IT solutions provider, and HealthPartners, the largest consumer-governed, non-profit health organization in the nation, announced the completion of a project to integrate a radiology picture archiving and communications system (PACS) from Merge with an electronic health record (EHR) solution from Epic. The new platform is now used at St. Paul-based Regions Hospital and across 18 HealthPartners outpatient clinics and medical offices.

“This integration is already showing its value in improving operational efficiencies, enhancing patient care, and increasing satisfaction among patients and clinicians. said Carrie Boren, director of enterprise radiology services for HealthPartners and Regions Hospital. Radiologists no longer wait for manual delivery of information from some departments or use extra keystrokes to toggle between two systems, and we’ve significantly reduced report turnaround time to referring doctors. In most cases, a final report is in the EHR within two hours of the imaging exam being performed.”  Boren added.

In conjunction with integrating the PACS and EHR, HealthPartners also managed a “big bang” transition from film to filmless in 18 outpatient settings. As a next step in the continued integration of the systems throughout the organization, Boren said HealthPartners will soon begin analysis of bringing the integrated EHR and PACS into their critical access hospitals in smaller cities in Western Wisconsin.

Merge Healthcare develops solutions that automate healthcare data and diagnostic workflow to enable a better electronic record of the patient experience, and to enhance product development for health IT, device and pharmaceutical companies. Merge products, ranging from standards-based development toolkits to sophisticated clinical applications, have been used by healthcare providers, vendors and researchers worldwide for over 20 years.

Source: Merge Healthcare