Radiology Imaging Associates improves productivity and patient care with evidence-based guidelines and intuitive analytics solution.
Company profile
Radiology Imaging Associates P.C. (RIA) is a community-based radiology practice that has served the South Denver area of Colorado for over 40 years. As the leading provider of professional services for diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology in Denver, RIA comprises over 70 highly trained and specialized radiologists. To continue their success and growth in the region, RIA seized the opportunity to use data mining to improve quality, reduce costs, and widen their competitive advantage.
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Peter Ricci M.D
Chairman of the Board and President
Radiology Imaging Associates
Challenge
- Cumbersome manual process of generating quality metrics
- Reducing unnecessary and inappropriate imaging
- Managing and measuring inconsistent recommendations
Solution
- Nuance® mPower™ Clinical Analytics and PowerScribe® 360 Reporting
Results
- Established real-time access to quality and practice standards metrics
- Reduced recommendation rates for additional imaging to less than industry averages
- Decreased time spent generating metrics from weeks to minutes
- Cut costs due to increase in efficiency
- Achieved nearly 100% compliance in radiologists’ direct follow up with referring physicians for critical results notification, a Joint Commission national patient safety goal
Background
In the healthcare industry, time is of the essence and hospitals strive to preserve it for both their patients and physicians. However, RIA’s existing process required several weeks to generate quality reports and metrics. With millions of free-text radiology reports in their database, locating just a few hundred reports based on certain criteria and parameters was both challenging and cumbersome.
In addition, RIA wanted the ability to monitor quality metrics beyond peer review and turnaround time to ensure consistent recommendations and to improve the patient experience. With the industry moving from volume-based to value-based success, RIA sought out a way to demonstrate quantifiable value and performance.