medQ's Radiology Workflow Buzz

Referring Physicians Portal

2012-02-09T09:20:00.004-06:00

Physician’s Web Portal

Q/ris Referring Physician’s Desktop allows users to register patients, order exams, check patient status, and view/print final reports and images with a Web browser and a standard Internet connection.

Q/ris 3000 Benefits:

Secure, SSL encrypted, rights based sign on and viewing privileges
Allows new patient registration and new order generation
Easy check of order/patient status, including prior history
Review and download of final reports (in PDF format)
Image viewer (non diagnostic) to see images and burn CD’s

http://www.medq.com/WebPortal.html

Critical Test Results Management Version 2.0 Goes Live

2012-02-03T10:52:00.002-06:00

By Rick Fiala, Implementation Services/GE Partner Manager, medQ, Inc.

medQ's Version 2.0 of the Q/ris Critical Test Results Management (CTRM) Module is now live at Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca, NV! We are looking forward to receiving feedback from HGH's Administrative personnel and their Radiologists as we prepare to begin development on version 3.0 of the CTRM Module.

Q/ris CTRM V 2.0 Module provides a more automated process for the radiologist to create a CTR Notification. It also allows the Radiologist to classify a CTR Notification as life-threatening (Red), Serious but not life-threatening (Orange) or Unexpected such as a pulmonary nodule (Yellow). In addition to these new features - this module captures contact methods, delivery verification documentation and any additional details of the communication and saves them to the permanent patient record. When communication of the CTR is confirmed a statement of CTR communication confirmation is appended to the final report, and the report is re-distributed to the ordering physician.

Users will have access to a CTRM Worklist that displays all CTR's that have not been communicated to the ordering physician. Administrative personnel and/or radiologists can follow-up to ensure positive communication.

HGH Administration will have access to a suite of Management Reports that can be run real time in minutes. Confirmation methodology such as contact information, ordering physician name, radiologist or administrative staff member confirming communication are captured and saved to the patient's permanent record. Users also have the ability to report on turnaround times from any step in the process beginning at patient arrival, through CTR communication confirmed.

Voice Recognition Software for Radiology

2012-01-29T08:35:00.001-06:00

Read and Report

Integrated Patient Reporting

Accurate and timely reports are the essential deliverable of your daily workflow – essential to your referring physician’s care delivery. With the Q/ris 3000 reports are delivered in minutes, not days.

Q/ris 3000 Benefits:

Fully integrated dictation work list to launch automatically PACS images from the radiologist’s desktop
Three options: traditional digital dictation, voice recognition routed to an editor and real-time voice recognition
Extensive use of macros and structured reports to standardize and speed reporting
Voice Recognition using Dragon Naturally Speaking™
Roaming profiles provide radiologist’s the ability to move from station to station without needing to retrain or reset their voice profiles.
One click addendum creation with auto-launching of images from patient history
Remote web access to sign reports
Full patient history through a single, integrated view at the physician’s desktop
User configurable time buffer provides the ability to re-review and modify reports without having to complete addendum
Reports are auto-faxed, emailed (with encryption) or network printed in user defined formats

Read more about medQ's Dictation Workflow

http://www.medq.com/media/QrisDictationWorkflowManagement.pdf

Radiology Workflow (RIS) will enhance future PACS growth

2012-01-21T13:35:00.010-06:00

By John Norman, CEO, medQ, Inc.
The latest news tells us that the future for the PACS market is bright with double digit growth expanding into more specialities in healthcare.

The continued growth of PACS over the next 5 years is definitely a positive trend. Going with PACS may be the quick hit to save money by moving imaging to a digital world and cutting film costs. Some productivity gains will be achieved by moving to a PACS environment, however, the major gains in productivity and efficiency cannot be achieved by having a PACS by itself. True savings will only be achieved if the PACS is part of a fully integrated workflow. The integration of a PACS with a strong workflow management/RIS program is the real driver of productivity. Also, with the need to connect, capture and communicate information (not just data) and decision support tools, a PACS must be a part of a complete solution to enable enterprises to achieve the real savings in financial terms and increase patient care. This is part of the Meaningful Use initiative. It is the workflow and information that is critical to full patient care.

This type of fully integrated solution is the driver and enterprises selecting a PACS must ensure their solution is comprehensive. This is even more important in making a decision about selecting a SAS or hosted solution. There are many providers of “cloud” PACS storage solutions, but only a handful that contain the capability to manage the full front end workflow and create and distribute final reports and even less that are voice recognition enabled. When selecting your hosted PACS make sure they can make your entire workflow digital and compliant with the need to connect, capture and communicate all the information for you and for your referring physician base.

medQ Announces Partnership with Hosted PACS Solutions, Inc.

2012-01-16T12:14:00.027-06:00

medQ, Inc is pleased to announce our new partnership with Hosted PACS Solutions, Inc. to market jointly our cloud based RIS/PACS. This solution will be a fully integrated, turnkey and cloud based application. This service is available now and pricing is based on a usage (per click) basis. For detailed information and product demonstrations, contact either Hosted PACS Solutions, or medQ, inc.
About Hosted PACS Solutions:

Established in 2009, Hosted PACS Solutions is an Application Service Provider (ASP) of best in class digital radiology software. We host high end RIS and PACS software on our servers in a HIPAA compliant data center and make it available to medical practices on a fee-per-study basis. Our hosted solutions are attractive to facilities that cannot justify the high cost and complexity of an onsite PACS system, but desire the same quality solutions used by hospitals and large facilities. For many practices, our solution makes the transition from film to digital imaging a viable option.

Our solutions deliver best in breed reliability, security and availability.

http://www.hostedpacs.com/
About medQ, Inc.:
medQ, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. medQ solutions provide an end to end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes with overall bottom line improvements.
www.medq.com

EHR: Keeping up with the latest news

2012-01-16T10:38:00.088-06:00

Proper EHR Implementation Brings Dividends
Stage 2 EHR Meaningful Use Rules Could Come Soon
Predictions Regarding the Electronic Health Record (EHR)
AMA Releases EHR Tutorials
Feb. 29 EHR Incentive Program Deadline
Federal database lists EHR products used for MU reporting

Lessons On Going Mobile With EHR Implementation

From the Chair: Patient Safety

EHR Physician-Customers Qualify for MU Payments
EHR Adoption Resources 2012
Mostashari Weighs in on 2011

More Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs Open

EHRs Receiving Data from Practice Management Systems

Year End EHR Incentives Status

Will Hospital Mergers Lead to Trashed EMRs?

Study: EHRs improve hospital nursing care

Racial disparities reduced through EHR use

5 EHR predictions for 2012

Designing a more user-friendly patient portal

Expect These Unexpected EHR Challenges

A Difficult Balancing Act

CMS Updates Medicare/Medicaid Meaningful Use Stats

ONC’s Five-Step Process for Adopting EHRs

CMS Gives Physicians EHR Meaningful Use Guidance

CMS EHR Incentive Programs Listserv

EHR Incentive Program Regulations and Notices

Hospital EHR Contracts and EHR Lock In

MRI new study: Stress damages the brain

2012-01-12T11:20:00.002-06:00

A recent Yale study using MRI to study the brain of healthy subjects showed stressful events, such as divorce, loss of job or home, death of a loved one, and natural disaster decreased the gray matter in the area of the brain that regulates self control, emotions, and physical functions.

The study indicated the need to find the underlying causes of stress in one’s life and how to prevent the damage it causes.

In another study using MRI, the practice of meditation was shown to increase the gray matter in the brain indicating that it is helpful in not only preventing stress but dealing with it’s emotional fallout.

Teleradiology: Reading Services

2012-01-12T09:08:00.005-06:00

medQ's Reading Services Module highlights:

Enhance Radiologists’ Clinical Effectiveness

Increasingly radiologist’s need to read and report on exams conducted and sent from multiple locations. The methods for doing this may also differ depending on the needs of the remote location. Often this scenario requires keeping multiple systems operating simultaneously. medQ has solved this with our Q/ris Reading Services Module (RSM) as featured in the May 2008 edition of Imaging Economics.

Q/ris 3000 RSM Key Benefits:

Combine data and images from multiple locations and sources, then integrate them into a seamless and unified work list; e.g., PACS, teleradiology applications, DICOM store and forward devices or direct from modalities
The RSM can be seamlessly integrated with existing HIS or RIS installations to receive patient information and orders as well as send back completed reports.
No limit to the number of locations or devices that can be added. We grow as your business does!
Capability to enter film orders as well as digital exams and integrate them into the unified work list.
Automatic Order Generation capability and dynamically creates an historical record of procedures, patient history, referring physicians with no pre-configuration required allowing a rapid deployment on site.
With our web-enabled architecture, order generation can be done automatically or set up to be a Quality Control Station either centrally, or at the sending location.
A virtually paperless operation eliminates the need for manual faxing or emailing of support documents. Data is captured once, at the source, and integrated into a complete reading package.
The Q/ris 3000™ Reading Services Module can be integrated with our Q/ris 3000™ Report module to provide onsite or remote report creation using either digital dictation or voice recognition.

Top apps for healthcare professionals

2012-01-10T10:59:00.009-06:00

5 Medical iPad Apps for Doctors
Top 50 iPad Apps For Doctors

How I Use Good Reader

VA Creates App For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Top 10 Medical iPhone Apps For 2011

10 Free Android Apps For Healthcare Professionals

Health Apps For The Consumer

Top iPad Anatomy Apps
The Pros And Cons Of Medical Apps For Doctors
4 Best Types of Apps for Hospital use

The smartphone: Beneficial tool with risks

2012-01-09T09:50:00.007-06:00

According to a recent report in “Manhattan Research", approximately, 82% of doctors will carry smartphones by 2012. The rapid development of smartphone medical apps allow doctors to access continuing medical education courses, medical information and alerts, laboratory results, radiology images, medical records, physician referral services, and more. Although, a great tool that offers many benefits to Doctors, there are areas of concern about the usage of these mobile devices in everyday practice.

How will this practice affect the future of medical imaging Centers?

2012-01-07T11:09:00.003-06:00

Freestanding imaging centers and doctor’s office are being hit hard by reduced reimbursements from medicare. Hospitals and healthcare systems are seeing this as an opportunity to buy these centers or partner with physicians in efforts to lower the costs and keeping the centers profitable.

How will this practice affect the future of medical imaging centers?

Job Title: RIS/EHR Project Manager/Implementation

2012-01-06T08:45:00.009-06:00

We are a Dallas based company, providing radiology/EHR workflow and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our software solutions provide an end to end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes with overall bottom line improvements.

Description: This person would be responsible for working with sales and clients to design and manage the implementation of a customized radiology informatics workflow solution. After the sale responsibility would be to manage the implementation of our enterprise wide EHR/Radiology Information Systems Software and business solutions at customer locations. This would include providing post implementation support, by phone or on-site, for our existing customers. Key responsibilities would include pre-installation software and site configuration, site planning and deployment as well as user training and support on the applications installed.

Candidates should have a working technical background in a healthcare user support environment including PC workstations, networking, and software installation. Experience in a healthcare IT environment is desired. A working knowledge of HL7, IHE and DICOM is required. Project management of enterprise software installations experience is required.

Candidates should have good interpersonal and communications skills and enjoy both hands on work and teaching. In many cases the individual will be working without direct supervision and should possess a drive for personal quality and be a self starter. Significant travel will be required during heavy installation timeframes.

Competitive salary and benefits based on background and experience.

This is Dallas based opportunity, but qualified candidates outside Dallas may be considered. No relocation paid.

Send Resume to:

nancy@medq.com
Or, apply at linkedin

Job: Customer Support

2012-01-05T08:13:00.008-06:00

Company: MedQ

Location: Dallas, TX

Employee Type: Full-Time Employee

Industry: Medical

Manages Others: No

Job Type: Information Technology

Required Education: 4 year Degree Preferred

Required Experience: At least 3 years

Required Travel: Negligible

Relocation Covered: No

Job Description:

Primary responsibility is to provide technical customer support by providing solutions and answers in a timely fashion with a positive, professional approach to each issue.

- Provide 1st-level helpdesk support via phone and e-mail for all Radiology Information Systems products

- Troubleshoot/resolve or escalate issues related to the application, network, configuration, or PC

- Assist in identifying, developing, and improving processes and documentation

- Train end-users

- Schedule and manage product upgrade for clients upon new version releases

Secondary responsibility is to assist Implementations on an as-needed basis

- Software testing

- Pre-installation configuration

- Site planning and deployment

- On-site user training and support

This position will report VP Operations

Job Requirements:

Candidates should have a working technical background in a user support environment including PC workstations, servers, networking, and software installation. Experience in a healthcare IT environment preferred. Candidates should have good interpersonal and communications skills and enjoy both hands on work and teaching. In many cases the individual will be working without direct supervision and should possess a drive for personal quality and be a self starter.

This is Dallas based opportunity. No relocation paid. Competitive salary and benefits based on background and experience.

Technical Skills:

- Must have 3 years technical support experience

- Must have working knowledge of MS Windows O/S and MS Office

- Basic Networking knowledge and understanding of Client/Server technologies.

- Experience with CRM, for the tracking of support incidents.

- Experience with Remote software (VNC or pcA)

- Experience with SQL helpful

- MCSE a plus

Non-Technical Skills:

- Proven verbal skills, including the ability to manage difficult clients over the phone

- Proven written skills, including the ability to do instructional or technical writing via email

- Patience, including the ability to deal with technical and non-technical clients

- Problem-solving and troubleshooting skills

- Time management and project management skills

- Technical aptitude with the ability to multi-task and prioritize

- Good interpersonal skills

- Detail oriented

- Travel not expected, but should be able to travel to clients if necessary

- Radiology, Mammography, or Medical Billing background a plus

This is a Dallas based opportunity-no relocation paid.

Please send resume to nancy@medq.com

Communication Tools for Improving Patient Safety

2011-12-21T11:50:00.015-06:00

By John Norman, CEO medQ
In Dr. Jonathan Berlin's article, "Critical Communication: Improving Patient Safety", Dr. Berlin makes a very good case for improving the timeliness and effectiveness of results communication. This is critical to enable the ordering physicians to understand the patient’s condition and begin a treatment protocol.

To make this happen, radiologists, as Dr Berlin points out, should have the tools they need fully integrated and embedded in their reporting solution. The smart use of VR and macros and having an embedded, one click, access to a critical test results program sets the stage for this to happen. When selecting a reporting solution this is a major criteria to have: “Does the system you have give you one click access to patient history, critical results notification protocol and VR?” using third party systems provide parts of this, however, one should look for a complete integrated solution that embeds all this into a single solution that does not require moving from application to application to get everything that is needed.

There are only a few offerings that provide this, medQ, inc with its Q/ris 3000 reporting/Critical Test Results Manangement product is one of the leaders in this.
Give medq a look:
http://www.medq.com/ReadAndReport.html

http://www.medq.com/CTRM.html

AAPM Issues Statement On Safety Of Medical Imaging

2011-12-21T09:11:00.003-06:00

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) issued a statement concerning the safety of radiation in medical imaging.
Medical imaging procedure's risks are low or non existent when administered appropriately . The public media’s sensational articles that low dose radiation may cause cancer and death may discourage patients from receiving necessary medical imaging procedures.

New Study-- Cell Phone's Cameras Used To Help Diagnose Diseases

2011-12-19T13:22:00.006-06:00

Using cell phones for diagnosing diseases or other conditions is not new. However, a new study has concluded that using a simple bar phone’s camera while taking a picture through a microscope would turn out a good enough quality image to be transmitted to experts. This would enable health care workers in remote areas without the ability to make a proper diagnosis to send photos to doctors who are able to diagnose a complicated condition.

Mobile Medical Imaging

2011-12-14T08:47:00.003-06:00

The care you provide impacts referring physician’s satisfaction as well as your organization’s finances. If your facilities go underutilized or improperly utilized, your business flounders. If your billing doesn’t match up with the care you deliver, your bottom-line suffers. We, at medQ, understand your challenge – and will solve it.

medQ provides a workflow and informatics software specifically designed for the diagnostic imaging process in mobile imaging operations. Our Q/ris 3000™ fully integrates and manages the business operations and imaging workflow including; ordering, scheduling, insurance pre-verification, route management, technologist dispatching and worklist, multisite scanning order QC, and charge capture (including Medicare transportation and ABN), radiologist reporting and communication to the referring physician into to a rules driven easy to navigate workflow process. Full integration of the Q/ris 3000™ with any PACS, teleradiology or even film based operation, including DICOM modality work list functionality, will also enable the enterprise to go to a virtually paperless environment.

medQ also provides operational management services to help redesign enterprise work process and job responsibilities to take advantage of the power of the system. This includes a series of real time, on-demand reports to create a real time process to manage clinical and business performance to provide a true focus on improving the quality of patient care and a positive impact on patient outcomes.

The Q/ris 3000™ web enabled architecture allows radiologists to read exams from any location at any time to create a virtual Radiology operation to significantly improve report turnaround time. Referring physicians can access their patient’s results and immediately see the reports and images. This is a significant improvement in their effectiveness and significantly reduces the cycle time in diagnosis, thus speeding the time to initiation of treatment protocol.

Why is the Q/ris 3000 your best option?

4 Open and component based architecture allows custom configuration – no “one size fits all”. This will allow each zone or route to be set up consistent with their customer’s needs, yet still allow enterprise management.

4 Operations can be done in an on-line and off-line mode providing a flexible solution for mobile operations when connectivity may be an issue.

4 Embedded, table-driven, customizable and automated business and clinical rules improve process efficiency and productivity, reduce errors and reduce real costs.

4 Q/ris dispatch module improves technologist/resource productivity and utilization

4 Allows technologist note collection and scanning of technologist worksheets to be associated with the study real time for the reading radiologists and historical files – no waiting for paperwork to catch up with the images.

4 Insurance pre Verification and 100% charge capture/billing of exams and supplies improves collections and cash flow.

4 Seamless integration at the radiologist’s desktop, with voice recognition, creates efficient patient reporting and faster turnaround times – minutes instead of hours

4 Real-time management reporting - on-line and printed to view - patient status as well as critical resource utilization and productivity management.

4 7 x 24 customer support hotline
http://www.medq.com/mobileimaging.html

medQ unveils Critical Test Result Management module at RSNA 2011

2011-12-14T08:34:00.003-06:00

November 30, 2011 — medQ has unveiled its Critical Test Result Management (CTRM) module, version 2.0. The module is fully automated and embedded in the Q/RIS VR-based dictation program. Radiologists will be able to assess the severity of the diagnosis and quickly contact the ordering physician to notify of the condition.

Read about medQ's CTRM:
http://medq.com/media/QrisCriticalTestResultsNotification.pdf

MU delayed! Should you wait or rush to attest?

2011-12-13T09:51:00.007-06:00

Nov. 30, 2011 HHS intends to delay the implementation of Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements for both hospitals and eligible professionals until 2014.
Should you wait or rush to attest?

Is The iPad Ready For Remote Readings By Radiologists?

2011-12-09T07:44:00.019-06:00

Radiology and the iPad
A new study reported in a recent Aunt Minnie article indicates that CT emergency reads on the iPad by radiologists did not show an increased overall rate of errors compared to viewing images on PACS workstations. However, that was not the case in CT pulmonary angiography studies. Radiologist's mean score of the iPad was between average and good.

In February, 2011, the FDA approved the first diagnostic radiology application for iPhones and iPads. The app is approved for medical diagnosis for CTs, MRIs, PETs, and nuclear medicine technology. However, it should only be used when there is no access to full workstations.

Aunt Minnie is running a series of interesting articles discussing the iPad's use in radiology.

Surgery with no knives, scars, or incisions! Surgeon Medan explains technique

2011-12-08T13:08:00.005-06:00

Noninvasive surgery! At TEDMED, surgeon Yoav Medan shares a technique that uses MRI to find trouble spots and focused ultrasound to treat such issues as brain lesions, uterine fibroids and several kinds of cancerous growths."

RSNA 2011 Flashmob

2011-12-01T09:54:00.004-06:00

It has been a great week at RSNA 2011, and one highlight that surprised us was the flash mob!

medQ Announces Plans to launch its Radiology EHR Module

2011-11-22T10:16:00.004-06:00

Dallas, Texas. medQ, a leading provider of radiology workflow solutions announces the introduction of their Radiology EHR.

What is Meaningful Use Certification

The first stage of Meaningful Use (MU) certification is Capture and Share. This requires capturing electronic health information and using those data to track and communicate clinical conditions. These data elements are specific to Eligible Professionals (EP’s). Virtually all referring/ordering physicians and most Radiologists are eligible as EP’s. For a radiologist to qualify as an EP they must have interpreted fewer than 10% of exams for inpatient and emergency department patients, with this 90% non hospital based reading the radiologist may qualify as an EP.

There are a total of 25 requirements which need to be met in order for the EP to become eligible for incentive funds. These requirements have been divided into 15 core requirements and 10 discretionary requirements. Of the discretionary requirements, 5 must be met, for a total of 20 requirements needed by the EP. For radiologists, there appears to be a significant number of exclusions as well. However, for them to qualify they must have a fully certified EHR, capable of meeting all 25 requirements.

What are the anticipated Benefits for EP and for non-EP based imaging operations?

• Allows Radiologists to take advantage of the $1B+ in incentive funds by using medQ’s fully certified Radiology EHR

• Allows Radiologists who have an EHR now to begin providing the necessary information to allow full MU adherence with the modular EHR

• Allows non-radiologist owned facilities to provide the necessary information back to their ordering physicians to enable them to comply and benefit from MU incentive funds.

• Enable radiologists to use healthcare IT solutions that improve quality and reduce cost of providing healthcare

• Creates the platform for using standardized format and fields to foster the exchange of data to ultimately reach Stage 3 where electronic tools should be in use to enhance clinical decision-making, improve patient self-management and encourage “wellness” activities”.

medQ’s Meaningful Use EHR Certification Plan

medQ will develop and offer a full Q/ris EHR module which will be fully and seamlessly integrated into the current Q/ris 3000 workflow management software. The Q/ris EHR will take advantage of the current Q/ris 3000 functionality and move data to populate the EHR fields automatically, thus avoiding any duplicate data entry. This will begin with modular certification in Phase I of our process. In Phase II, medQ will have “Complete Certification” of Q/ris EHR to support fully the Stage 1 MU Requirements.

• Phase I – will be to certify all the elements required (see attachment 1) for imaging centers/hospitals which already have in place an EHR. This will support collection and transmission of all the data required by the EHR. In addition the Q/ris EHR supports electronic order entry for radiology orders.

• Phase II – this will be the full Q/ris 3000 EHR meeting all 25 data elements required, and will be considered a fully certified EHR.

• The Q/ris EHR will be sold as an optional, add on Module to Q/ris 3000. No additional hardware will be required.

• Full interfacing will be available to send/receive information to other systems in the market – will have universal connectivity.

Q/ris EHR Target market:

• Outpatient Imaging Centers/Mobile Imaging with or without an EHR. These can be radiologist owned and operated or non-radiologist owned. If not a radiologist owned the facility will be able to transmit the proper information to their referring physician base to ensure they have the data needed to support their MU requirements.

• Radiology reading groups

• Small to medium sized hospitals, with or without their own EHR

Q/ris EHR MU Certification Timeline

• Phase 1 – Modular Certification

• Beta test site selection and set up December 2011

• Certification (via Drummond) December 2011

• Phase 2 -- fully certified EHR Module

• Beta test site by end of 1st Quarter 2012

• Completed certification 2^nd Quarter 2012

• General availability July 2012

What you should require of your next workflow based “Super RIS”

2011-11-21T16:58:00.004-06:00

Whether your business is hospital-based, a single imaging center, networked group practice, a reading service, or any combination of these business models you need more than a basic RIS. What you need is a true workflow based “Super” RIS that can be tailored to your unique business needs and meet all, not just part of your business and imaging requirements.

· First and foremost the RIS must be a complete end to end solution, which includes full connectivity inbound and outbound with your referring physician base

· Web enabled Apps for anytime, anywhere access

· Full DICOM modality work list to speed the exam process and reduce errors by eliminating double data entry

· Embedded business and clinical rules create an automated and intelligent environment which eliminates errors and duplicate data entry

· Integrated dictation that is VR, Macro and structured report based dictation that improves report turnaround to minutes instead of hours or days for reports

· An embedded Critical Test Result Notification package to improve patient safety and positively impact outcomes.

· An HL7-based IHE compliant program ensures ease of integration with all outside EMR/HIS/RIS/EHR systems

· An integrated EHR that supports your facility’s and referring physician’s ability to comply with all the MU requirements

· Enterprise version simultaneously manages multiple imaging centers, easily scalable

· Reading services module with automatic order generation from multiple sending sites and PACS integrated into a single dictation work list.

· Connectivity to any PACS inbound and outbound

· Advanced business metrics/heuristics and QC reporting tools to benchmark performance and measure results

· 100% charge capture and automatic insurance pre-verification to increase revenue stream

· A web portal’s on-line, real time patient tracking tool that allows referring doctors to register patients, order exams or see reports and images any time

· Installs that take weeks instead of months depending on the size of your practice.

Visit our website at http://www.medq.com/ to learn about medQ's Q/RIS3000!

medQ, Inc. Announces Installation of their Q/ris 3000 at The Children’s Center, OK

2011-11-17T07:25:00.000-06:00

medQ, Inc. Announces Installation of their Q/ris 3000 at The Children’s Center, OK

Q/ris Critical Test Results Management

2011-11-16T13:05:00.004-06:00

The Q/ris Critical Test Results Management module will be available in the 4^th Qtr 2011.

This is a major upgrade to our current Q/ris CTRM offering. With the Q/ris CTRM V2.0, radiologists will be able improve the identification, triage and results communication protocol to the ordering physician, as well as establish a delivery verification documentation and auditing process. Fully automated and integrated in the Q/ris 3000 dictation software, radiologists will be able to assess the severity of the diagnosis and quickly contact the ordering physician to notify of the condition.

· Embedded directly in the Q/ris 3000 dictation program for real-time ease of access.

· User defined result categorization based on urgency – red, orange, yellow

· Radiologist work space to get ordering doctor information and record communications

· Follow up work list for result tracking to ensure positive communications

· Multiple contact methods and confirmation documentation

· A positive confirmation methodology tracks this process from start to finish and logs all attempts until notification is confirmed.

· Full management reporting of process, contacts and turnaround times

· Automatic footer on the final report to show contact person, date and time.

Stop by and see us, South Bldg, Suite 5500 for a live demonstration of our complete workflow solution. Or, call and set up an appointment 800-597-6330 ext 225. Visit our new website http://www.medq.com/ for more information.

See our Press Release of the CTRM:

http://medqris.blogspot.com/2011/11/medq-inc-unveils-qris-3000-ctrm-v20.html

medQ's Announcements for RSNA 2011

2011-11-16T11:46:00.005-06:00

It is RSNA time again, and we here at medQ are very excited about the future of imaging and our new applications that will be on display at the show.
We are very pleased to be introducing major additions to our imaging portfolio, designed to meet the needs of today’s ever changing imaging business.

First, we are launching our Q/ris Radiology EHR.  This will be an add-on and fully integrated into our current Q/ris 3000 platform.  It is designed to be fully compliant with the Meaningful Use requirements.  We will begin Beta testing in 2011. We expect modular certification (gives us the capability to send the required information to facilities/hospitals and referring physicians with an EHR the capability) by YE 2011 and full certification in 2012.  General availability will be in the 1st Quarter 2012.

Second, our Q/ris Critical Test Results Management V2.0 will be available in the 4th Qtr 2011.  This is a major upgrade to our current CTRM offering.  With the Q/ris CTRM V2.0, radiologists will be able improve the identification, triage and results communication protocol to the ordering physician, as well as establish an effective delivery verification documentation and auditing process.  Fully automated and embedded in the Q/ris 3000 dictation software, radiologists will be able to assess the severity of the diagnosis and quickly contact the ordering physician to notify of the condition.  A positive confirmation methodology tracks this process from start to finish and logs all attempts until notification is confirmed.
Stop by and see us, South Bldg, Booth# 5500 for a live demonstration of our complete workflow solution.  Or, call and set up an appointment 800-597-6330 ext 225.  Visit our new website www.medq.com for more information.
Have a great RSNA………

Regards,
John Norman
CEO, medQ, Inc.

medQ's Specialties:
Q/ris 3000, Integrated Patient Reporting, Ordering and Scheduling, Mammography Tracking, Billing, Critical Test Results Management (CTRM), Physician’s Web Portal, Reading Services Module, Mobile Imaging Workflow

medQ, Inc. Announces Installation of their Q/ris 3000 at The Children’s Center, OK

2011-11-15T09:26:00.001-06:00

medQ, a leading provider of information technology and service solutions in radiology announces the start up of their Q/ris 3000 workflow management at The Children’s Center, a private, nonprofit pediatric hospital serving children with complex medical and physical disabilities in Bethany, Oklahoma.

The Q/ris 3000 system will enable The Children’s Center to manage scheduling,

DICOM MWL management and final report distribution for its inpatient and outpatient operations. “Prior to deployment of medQ, our patient management was a very manual, time consuming operation and patient records were scattered across more than 100 disparate data bases,” said Darin K. Brannan, MD, Medical Director of The Children’s Center. “medQ provided us the comprehensive software solution to improve the efficiency of our order process and a single, unified data base for patient history.”

ABOUT The Children’s Center
The Children’s Center, a private, nonprofit pediatric hospital, is dedicated to helping children with complex medical and physical disabilities maximize their potential. In an atmosphere of love and hope, the Center provides general pediatrics, medical and respiratory care, rehabilitative therapies, and special education to youth and children, both inpatients and outpatients. http://www.tccokc.org/

ABOUT medQ
medQ, inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology, workflow management and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end-to-end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes in addition to overall bottom line improvements. Visit us at RSNA 2011, Booth #5500 South Building. Learn more at www.medq.com

What To Consider In A Solutions provider to Improve Patient Safety

2011-11-13T14:00:00.010-06:00

A major contributor to radiology malpractice claims it is the failure of the referring physician and the radiologist to communicate critical test results.
medQ, inc., Unveils Q/RIS 3000 CTRM V20

medQ, Inc. Unveils Q/RIS 3000 CTRM V2.0 Module

2011-11-13T09:37:00.004-06:00

medQ, Inc. Unveils Q/RIS 3000 CTRM V2.0 Module

Dallas, Texas – medQ, a leading provider of radiology information technology and service solutions unveils their Critical Test Result Management (CTRM) Module, Version 2.0.

The guidelines of the Joint Commission and the American College of Radiology (ACR) require radiologists to have a dependable process for identifying, communicating and tracking critical test results. With Q/ris 3000 Workflow Management CTRM application Version 2.0, medQ has taken this process to a new, much higher level. With the Q/ris CTRM V2.0, radiologists will be able improve the identification and results communication protocol to the ordering physician, as well as establish an effective delivery verification documentation and auditing process. Fully automated and embedded in the Q/ris VR based dictation program, radiologists will be able to assess the severity of the diagnosis and quickly contact the ordering physician to notify of the condition. A positive confirmation methodology tracks this process from start to finish and logs all attempts until notification is confirmed. A new and unique feature is the ability to place this final notification on the completed report to close the loop.

The CTRM module is in the market now and the new and improved version will be released in the fourth quarter of 2011.

ABOUT medQ:
medQ, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology, workflow management and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end-to-end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes in addition to overall bottom line improvements. Learn more at www.medq.com

Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T09:32:00.000-06:00

We salute and thank all veterans for their dedicated and loyal service to our country. We deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made in their lives to keep our country free. Happy Veteran's Day from all of us at medQ!

Want to learn more on healthcare I.T.’s impact on radiology?

2011-11-07T10:29:00.003-06:00

The last of this 3 part series ended on November 16, 2011.
The series is still available at "on demand".
Leaders in radiology providing you with solutions and strategies!

Meaningful Use: News Updates

2011-11-04T14:30:00.081-05:00

New Rules Stage 2 (2) Feb 26, 2012
New Rules Stage 2 (1) Feb 23, 2012
Moving Ahead With Stage 2 Meaningful Use

Stage 2 Meaningful Use Rule Close to Release

CMS Releases Guidance on Appeals Process forMeaningful Use Program
Meaningful Use incentive payments top $2.5 billion

Smoking And Meaningful Use
Q&A: Farzad Mostashari on Meaningful Use, Privacy
CMS Gives Physicians EHR Meaningful Use Guidance
Thoughts On The Year Ahead

Shifting Focus TO Stage 2 Meaningful-Use

HFMA Offers Guidance For Incentive Payment Accounting Practices

Blumenthal Discuses Short and Long Term Success Of Hitech Act

Klas RSNA Collaborate Radiology And Meaningful Use Study

Meaningful Use Clarifications for 2011
The Joy Of Success In Meaningful Use
The State of Analytics in Government Healthcare
Health Information Technology Regulation Policy
Marc Probst Intermountain Healthcare
49 Flavors of Meaningful Use

Ready Set Attest
Additional Meeting with ONC and CMS on Meaningful Use and Hospital-Located Eligible Professionals
Meaningful Use in Radiology
medQ Announces Radiology EMR Module

Possible? Ultrasound Shows Man's face appearing in tumor

2011-11-03T16:52:00.005-05:00

Doctors were stunned when they saw what appeared to be the outline of a man’s face in an ultrasound image of a tumor. See the image

medQ and aycan install RIS and PACS systems at Digital Diagnostic Center

2011-11-02T11:55:00.006-05:00

Integrated solution provides efficient digital imaging and patient management system for new imaging site in Louisiana.

Dallas, Texas, November 1, 2011. medQ, a leader in radiology information technology and service solutions, in conjunction with its business partner aycan, a recognized worldwide leader in medical imaging, announced today the installation of a fully integrated digital imaging and patient management system for Digital Diagnostic Center (DDC), a new full-service imaging center in Denham Springs, Louisiana.

The joint solution is comprised of medQ’s Q/ris 3000 customizable enterprise software, and a complete PACS solution from aycan. medQ and aycan will also provide ongoing service and support.

Designed specifically for DDC, the integrated solution from medQ and aycan provides an end-to-end digital imaging and patient management system that enables DDC to provide highly efficient and cost effective radiology and ultrasound imaging services to the Denham Springs community.

“With the installation of its Q/ris 3000 enterprise solution, DDC is capable of ordering, scheduling, front desk operations, DICOM modality worklist, technologists work lists, and full voice recognition-based dictation integrated with their onsite PACS from aycan,” said John Norman, CEO of MedQ.

“The medQ team worked closely with my staff to design the workflow process and train my team to ensure we had a fully integrated workflow and a seamless and successful launch of our new facility,” stated Dr. Charles Greeson MD, Medical Director at Digital Diagnostic Center. Dr. Greeson went on to say, “The fact that the Q/ris-aycan combination provides us with a completely integrated and virtually paperless operation ensures our operations will start out and continue at a high level of efficiency and productivity. The dictation program, with integrated real time voice recognition, also allows us to have the reports out to our referring physicians in minutes, a definite positive to improve patient care.”

“aycan is proud to work with medQ to provide complete digital imaging solutions for radiology and other imaging centers,” said Frank Burkhardt, aycan Director, North & Latin American Operations. “The joint solution supports the growing demand for higher quality, more efficient medical solutions while lowering costs,” said Burkhardt.

The aycan PACS solution includes: aycan Store, a scalable, high performance DICOM archiving and distribution system; aycan workstation OsiriX PRO, an FDA and CE certified, cost effective and highly functional 64-bit workstation for conventional, multi-slice and other image reading; and Eizo medical imaging monitors.

medQ and aycan will be demonstrating the joint RIS-PACS solution in their booths at this year’s RSNA in Chicago, November 27^th through December 1^st, 2011.

ABOUT medQ

medQ, inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end-to-end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes in addition to overall bottom line improvements. Visit us at RSNA 2011, Booth #5500 South Building. Learn more at www.medq.com

ABOUT aycan

With a focus on vendor neutral integration and service, aycan is a worldwide provider of solutions for viewing, printing, sharing, and storing medical images and information that improve workflow efficiency and drive down costs. aycan works with other industry innovators such as Xerox and Apple, whose quality products are part of their solutions. aycan supports customers worldwide with European headquarters in Wuerzburg Germany, and U.S. headquarters in Rochester, New York. The company is privately held. Visit us at RSNA 2011, Booth #8707 North Building (Hall B). Learn more at www.aycan.com

Will having the requirement for radiologists to notify physicians of these critical results and track them help?

2011-10-28T14:00:00.030-05:00

Who is really reading your X-rays?

There is a chance the CT, MRI, or another medical imaging exam you had may not have been read by your radiologist. The communication between the radiologist who is reading your exam and your doctor has direct impact on patient outcome and safety.
medQ's Critical Test Results Management (CTRM) provides a tool to improve patient income.

Critical Test Results Management (CTRM)
The communication of critical and significant test results is a continually sighted problem in the healthcare environment today. The Joint Commission’s #2 Goal requiring that hospitals implement a standardized approach to hand-off communications is still prevalent, and Patient Safety and Hospital administrators need an easier way to track their performance versus manually collecting the data when the Joint Commission shows up on their doorstep.

Q/ris 3000 has developed an affordable solution to this problem by providing a module that assists in the communication of a CTR, as well as documenting and storing the communication indefinitely for real time reporting.

Q/ris 3000 CTRM Key Benefits:

Workflow design is based on radiologist feedback and is engineered to be seamless and efficient when a CTR needs to be communicated and documented
Radiologist can choose to communicate the CTR to the referring physician or delegate the responsibility to radiology administrative personnel
Identify and document the person to whom the CTR was communicated, and by whom
Free text area to document additional details of the procedure, result or CTR communication that will become part of the permanent record
Management Reports can be created, real time, highlighting all pertinent activity

MRIs and CTs are saving lives. Can you add to the list?

2011-10-27T08:44:00.005-05:00

According to a new study published by Radiology journal MRI of the brain could expand the number of stroke patients for a potentially life saving treatment.

Christine Applegate-How MRI saved my life.

MRI reveals liver cancer in time to save lives

How MRI brain scans can help children with epilepsy.
M.R.I.’s Help Fight High Risk of Cancer
CT scans detect lung cancer

What do physicians consider when referring patients to an imaging center?

2011-10-24T07:49:00.006-05:00

Recently, I asked a nurse on staff at a GPs office what criteria the practice considered when referring a patient to an imaging center. This was her response (I replaced the name of the imaging center with XXX):

“We refer mostly to XXX because they have multiple locations, you don't have to call to get a stat Xray (usually), they are quick w/reports and they have premade scripts. We will write out other scripts to other places but only at the request of the patient –XXX does a lot even chemical stress tests and when we have trouble getting precerted for them they will help. That's it in a nutshell.”

RSNA 2011 Booth 5500 South Building

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

We will be at RSNA 2011...Stop by and see us!

Booth 5500 Hall A South Building
http://rsna2011.rsna.org/floorplan/default.html

View our newly introduced Version 4.3 including critical test results notification module!

Please contact us if you would like to set up an appointment:
www.medq.com

medQ Announces Radiology EMR Module Press Release

2011-10-03T08:45:00.003-05:00

Dallas, Texas – Healthcare workflow systems provider medQ inc. announces a Radiology EMR module to complement its Q/ris 3000

™ offering by year end.

This module will help radiologists receive re-imbursement thru the Meaningful Use funds available by the government by supporting the stage 1 requirements. A majority of Radiologists qualify for HITECH funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Initially certification will be for a modular EMR however complete certification of this module is planned meaning that Q/ris 3000™ will provide full functionality to meet all 15 core objectives as well as 5 of the 10 menu set objectives of the Radiologist’s choice.

By incorporating Meaningful use into the Q/ris 3000™ platform eliminates the need for a Radiology practice to purchase a separate EHR to complement their system.

medQ Releases Q/ris 3000™ Enterprise Software Version 4.3

2011-10-03T08:39:00.000-05:00

(July, 2011)

Dallas, Texas – Healthcare workflow system provider medQ inc. announces the release of its Q/ris 3000™ enterprise software Version 4.3. With this release, the Q/ris 3000™ provides a special mobile imaging workflow as well as improvements for imaging center and hospital based radiology operations. This is part of our continuing commitment to improve our product and provide more ways to increase productivity and profitability and at the same time improving patient care.

Major innovations in this release include:

A reengineered workflow used in the diagnostic process in mobile imaging operations. This includes a sophisticated charge capture module to create claims submission ready charges to output to any billing system. A full dispatch module has been added in addition to
- Capture of all Stops and setup charges
- Automatically identify all technical/professional components
- Comprehensive set of Mobile Imaging specific Management reports
- Automated Physician signature report for physicians to sign off

A critical test results module to aid in the communication of critical and significant test results.

Primary and secondary column sorts on all work lists in the system to improve productivity and functionality.

A module that allows technologists to import JPEG images to pass them along to any PACS. This eliminates paper, improves workflow and provides ready access to important information at the point of care. It allows you to store the document both in the Q/ris 3000™ as well as the PACS as part of the image set.

Better search and filter options in our Reading Services module to streamline Reading Service operations.

The ability to assign macros to procedures and facilities. This greatly improves Radiologist productivity and encourages standardization in how results are created in large radiology groups.

Patient notes can be added and retrieved from anywhere in the system to support the communications of information between the various workflow steps.

Seamless plug and play integration with the Philips SpeechMike Barcode versions to improve Radiologist productivity in scenarios where a barcode workflow is used. This is done by streamlining how a study is selected using a barcode to just one click and the radiologist is ready to dictate.

Availability of an “Admin Tool” which is a web based administrator portal so that system administrators can manage several support tasks themselves empowering our sites to make configuration changes etc.

Radiologists can use Global and Personal macros for dictations allowing both flexibility as well as standardization in the reporting process.

A transcriptionist can now initiate the process of an addendum. This improves radiologist productivity so that they do not have to initiate.

medQ, inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end-to-end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that results in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes with overall bottom line improvements.

For more information contact us at medq.info@medq.com or call 1-800-597-6330

Visit us at www.medq.com
http://www.facebook.com/medqinc

CT Radiology Press Release

2011-10-03T08:36:00.000-05:00

(June 2011)

Dallas, Texas – Healthcare workflow systems provider medQ, inc. has expanded its presence into the Caribbean market and was selected by CT Radiology, San Juan, Puerto Rico to provide its Q/ris 3000™ Dictation Management System™ to support their daily operations. The Q/ris Dictation program is seamlessly and fully integrated with the Aycan PACS and OsiriX™ DICOM viewer. This is the 7th order to be installed with the Aycan PACS offering. Learn more at www.aycan.com.

Deployment of the Q/ris 3000™ dictation workflow Management System enables CT Radiology to automate their Mammography order entry and report creation process, including using the real time VR option to improve operational and clinical productivity and significantly reduce report turnaround times.

medQ, inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end to end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes in addition to overall bottom line improvements.

medQ, Inc. Announces Its 75th Client Press Release

2011-10-03T08:31:00.001-05:00

(June 2011)

Dallas, Texas – Healthcare workflow systems provider medQ, inc. has announced its 75th RIS client installation. With the start up of CT Radiology in San Juan, Puerto Rico, medQ, Inc. now has installed 75 major clients supporting approximately 100 locations throughout the US and Caribbean. These installations include integrations with over 35 different PACS and practice management, HIS systems. The clients vary from small single imaging centers to hospitals and multi site reading services and multi location imaging centers.

“This marks a milestone for us…” commented John F Norman, CEO, “…it is a testament to the full functionality and ease of operation of the Q/ris 3000™ platform that so many clients have selected us as their workflow solution. We would like to thank all our customers for making us this successful.”

medQ, inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provides radiology information technology and service solutions that enable healthcare providers to deliver quality, cost effective patient care. Our medQ solutions provide an end to end, patient centric diagnostic imaging management process that result in greater operational efficiencies and improved patient outcomes in addition to overall bottom line improvements.

www.medq.com
www.facebook.com/medqinc