UMC touts new technology

Michelle Swafford

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 | 10:50 a.m.

Digital images recently replaced traditional X-ray and cardiology films at University Medical Center.

The best part of the change: Doctors can view the images and radiology reports from their home offices, the hospital or anywhere else that has Internet access.

Monday afternoon the Clark County-owned hospital unveiled its $13.9 million Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) to county officials and local media. UMC paid about $8.5 million for a cardiology system and a radiology system, while the remaining cost was paid through various grants and incentives from the equipment manufacturer, Royal Philips Electronics.

Dr. Carl Recine, UMC's chief of radiology, said the upgrades will provide cost and time savings for the hospital and patients.

The total savings are uncertain, but film costs UMC an average of $1.2 million annually and takes three to 24 hours to process and be reviewed by a radiologist, said Dan Del Zoppo, UMC administrative director of radiological services.

Recine added that images can be stored on CDs for about 10 cents, compared with analog films that cost $3 to $4 and the digital images take up less physical space.

The digital systems provide real-time images using computed-tomography (CT), medical resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, angiography, nuclear medicine and cardiology.

The PACS also enables doctors to dictate their interpretations into a voice-activated portion of the system, edit any misinterpretations and generate official radiology reports, Recine said.

"With the shortage of radiologists, anything that allows the radiologist to be more efficient is better," Recine said.

The cardiology PACS shows echocardiograms -- an ultrasound of the heart to look for leaky valves, obstructions and blood flow -- and angiograms -- pictures of the blood vessels that supply the heart, said Dr. Muhammad Bhatti, UMC's medical director of cardiovascular services.

Generating reports and remote consultations with other physicians are easier with PACS, he said.

"It helps in increasing our productivity a lot," Bhatti said.

Since May, University Medical Center has been upgrading its computers, adding new ones and installing equipment and software to make digital viewing available throughout most of the hospital, at its 11 UMC Quick Care centers and at three offsite UMC clinics.

The radiology PACS is fully integrated throughout UMC, but the cardiology PACS has a few limitations. UMC's emergency room, coronary care unit and chest paint center do not offer digital dictation, but that will change soon, hospital spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger said.

UMC is not the only Las Vegas Valley hospital to incorporate digital radiology into its procedures. HCA Inc. -- owner of Southern Hills, Sunrise and MountainView hospitals in Las Vegas -- installed GE Healthcare PACS last year at all three hospitals on a limited basis.

Sunrise, MountainView and Southern Hills use their PACS for emergency room x-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRI scans and nuclear medicine, Sunrise spokeswoman Glenda McCartney said.

The majority of HCA's local doctors use PACS through HCA's local hospital network since a radiologist is on call 24 hours a day, but the PACS images are available through the Internet, she said.

In November, angiography and nonemergent x-rays will be captured through the PACS, she said. Voice activation is available but not currently used.

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals -- Siena Campus has digital radiology, cardiology and dictation services, but they are part of three separate systems.