Every step of the way, from getting the patient to the diagnostic office to following up once they’ve left, AbbaDox stands out from the crowd by offering intuitive collaboration tools and features that make physicians’ lives easier and deliver better outcomes for the patients. We’re here to help you have fewer “crazy days,” because when you’re using AbbaDox, you won’t feel like you’re doing it alone.
We all know that identifying cancer at stage 1 vs. stage 4 can make all the difference. When a patient comes in for screening or diagnostic imaging, they may need additional testing to confirm diagnosis and fully understand what’s going on. But this could become an administrative nightmare to track and tag every individual study for recommended follow ups and the potential for human error is high. Not following up with the patient happens more often than you’d think and could be futile, both for the patient’s health and for the ordering physician’s method of care.
As a solution, AbbaDox’s back-end Natural Language Processing (NLP) engines help solve the problem. The NLP process may run in the background on all or a select type of radiology results and automatically identifies radiologist’s follow up recommendations, flags it and places it in a specific workflow bin for the ordering physicians to easily access, review and decide if additional treatment or diagnostic testing is warranted.
Not All Findings Are Equal
Oftentimes, a diagnostic image will come back negative. It’s a sigh of relief all around. But when that’s not the case, and when a critical finding is evident, time and effective communication are of the essence. With AbbaDox’s voice dictation platform, radiologists can quickly document and notify the care coordinator – both through text message and email – while dictating and without disrupting their workflow. And again, the icing on the cake is that all of this activity is tracked in a detailed audit trail that is attached to the study – all without the radiologist having to leave his workflow to do it manually or with an add-on. It’s all built in.
The University of Rochester performed an experiment to understand if NLP would help them close the loop when it came to patient follow-up, specifically in radiology. The results were outstanding, “…we’ve increased the recommended examination completion rate by 29% improving both patient outcomes and reimbursements,” said Dr. Ben Wandtke, medical staff president and chief of diagnostic imaging at UR Medicine Thompson Health and an associate professor in the department of imaging sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Dr. Wandtke goes on to say, “Every patient deserves their best chance for a cure. If there’s a technology out there that helps make this a reality, you absolutely should embrace it. The problem of delayed diagnosis related to actionable radiology findings is universal, but it does not have to be. Natural language processing-based analytics coupled with database technology and a human touch have nearly eliminated this problem at the University of Rochester.”
To Test or Not to Test?
Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of diagnostic testing recommended as well as the accompanying cost. According to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, while the added imaging has resulted in better patient outcomes, it’s also made radiology a target for cost-cutting efforts. AbbaDox provides diagnostic imaging centers with Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools that are embedded in AbbaDox RIS or an online scheduling portal designed specifically for their referring physicians. It is a convenient and less intrusive way to meet Appropriate Use Criteria to ensure you qualify for Medicare reimbursements. Because our CDS is fully integrated, it means you’ll get the appropriate G-codes to avoid an increase in denied claims. We’ve fine-tuned the experience, so workflow change is minimal, and compliance is painless.
Uber, help!
Did you know that missed radiology appointments cost hospitals about $1 million per year, according to a study at the University of Washington, Seattle? Well, we’re on it. AbbaDox is the only RIS that’s integrated with Uber Health to ensure that patients can make it to their appointments. The outcome results in a better patient experience and fewer no-shows. It’s the reliable Uber experience you’ve come to love, but it’s HIPAA compliant and for non-urgent healthcare transportation.
Like we said before, we’re more than scheduling and registration, we’re more than masters of workflow optimization. You’re helping to improve patient care, and we’re your wingman, making sure you don’t miss a beat (no pun intended).