TORONTO – Nov. 12, 2015 – At this year’s annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA,) MedCurrent will introduce a first-of-its-kind tool that enables healthcare and radiology leaders to prospectively understand the impact and ROI of implementing clinical decision support (CDS) as a result of the CMS mandate for hospital radiology departments and imaging centers.
MedCurrent Impact is a unique tool that can be integrated with an organization’s electronic health record (EHR) system to evaluate baseline order appropriateness and optimality. Furthermore, the captured data is analyzed and presented through MedCurrent’s Analytics platform to illustrate modality volume shifts and interactive ROI calculations, enabling the organization to understand better the impact of implementing CDS on local operations and finances. The resulting data and knowledge will bolster relevant strategic planning initiatives and ensure a more customized enterprise-wide CDS implementation.
"Having a tool that will prospectively tell healthcare organizations how CDS will impact their organizations is incredibly useful," said Steve Herman, MD, MedCurrent’s founder, and Chief Medical Officer. "It will likely change ordering patterns in a significant way. Regardless of payer mix, that information is crucial for financial and operational planning."
Additionally, Dr. Herman says that a solution like MedCurrent Impact can provide organizations with a low-cost option to interact with initiatives designed to comply with the CDS mandate while allowing them to work simultaneously toward full compliance. MedCurrent’s tool can forecast projected shifts in modality traffic, for example, which can inform workflow planning, resource allocation and technology procurement.
CDS software uses Appropriate Use Criteria (i.e. rule sets) to analyze and rank the appropriateness of a provider’s diagnostic imaging orders based on each patient’s clinical scenario. Research has demonstrated the ability of CDS to reduce the number of inappropriate exams, thereby improving quality, reducing costs and reducing unnecessary patient exposure to radiation.
According to Dr. Herman, optimal use of a CDS tool will require a significant cultural shift among providers who order imaging studies. "Systems that are easy for providers to use will be the gold standard," he said, noting that radiology clinical decision support is one of the most shopped solutions at RSNA 2015.
Toronto-based MedCurrent was among the first vendors to introduce a radiology decision support system, MedCurrent CDS™.
MedCurrent will be at RSNA 2015 at booth #2972. Additional information is at www.medcurrent.com.
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About MedCurrent Corporation
MedCurrent is a radiology clinical decision support software company. MedCurrent’s EMR-embedded, cloud-based workflow engine improves operational efficiencies, hastens user adoption, supports change management and provides rule authoring capability. Using MedCurrent for imaging services is the first step in developing an enterprise-wide strategy to apply CDS to other physician-referred services.