Enter Your Email Address to Receive a
Copy of MedicExhange Member Demograhpics

Merge Healthcare has announced that Metro Imaging is successfully using its RIS and PACS to help streamline operations in response to Medicare reimbursement declines.

Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ:MRGE)(TSX:MRG), a leading medical imaging solutions provider, today announced that Metro Imaging is among several imaging centers successfully using its radiology information system (RIS) and picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to help streamline operations in response to Medicare reimbursement declines associated with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

From 2006 to 2007, reimbursement dropped ten per cent across the board, and reimbursement for MRIs and CT scans declined 20 per cent to 40 per cent respectively, according to Christine M. Keefe, CFO of Metro Imaging, a St. Louis-area network of five freestanding centers. In response, Metro Imaging made minor adjustments to its staffing and hours of operation, renegotiated service contracts, and reduced preventive maintenance sessions. However, said Keefe, the organization realized it needed to increase volume, and turned to Merge Healthcare to assist with this.

Keefe added, "With our strong Merge RIS/PACS environment, we've identified opportunities to automate previously manual processes, enhance workflow and increase throughput without adding costs. The system is flexible enough to be customized for our needs, without requiring significant time or expense. We rely heavily on Merge RIS/PACS reporting to secure tangible measures that help improve service and work distribution," said Keefe. "We've done more monitoring of staff productivity than ever, from each individual transcriptionist to how many patients each person has scheduled and checked in. We know when to add staff and move people around."

To help drive volume, Metro Imaging implemented Onsite Results in June 2007. This program lets patients get preliminary results before leaving the imaging center. Metro believes they are the only center in the US offering this type of program. "Patients love it," said Keefe, "and we can offer this 'real-time' service only because our blended PACS, RIS and digital dictation capabilities give us the efficiency to do so."

After the first full year of the Onsite Results program, Metro Imaging's volume grew by four percent "yet we’ve not hired any additional FTEs—radiologists or technologists," Keefe stated.

Celebrating their 14th anniversary on June 1, Metro Imaging offers MRI, CT, Digital Mammography, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy and X-ray with 70 employees performing approximately 100,000 exams per year with 2007 revenues of approximately $30 million. Metro Imaging has been a Merge RIS customer since 2003, and in 2005, added PACS, digital dictation, a referring practice portal, and a practice analysis module from Merge. In 2006, they added Merge Mammo, a multi-modality, vendor-neutral mammography viewing workstation.

Added Keefe, "Outpatient imaging is a highly competitive market area. We are constantly evaluating our physician referral base. The information we extract from our RIS/PACS allows us to target marketing efforts and monitor trends closely. We also monitor each site's workload to evaluate when we need to expand or reduce exam hours, fine-tune staffing, etc. We monitor turn-around time, wait time, and dictation time to trouble-shoot potential bottlenecks. We truly use our Merge RIS/PACS to help manage our business. Our goal is to provide excellent quality and service and our system helps us meet that goal."