Beth Israel Medical Center Electronically Delivers Radiology Results Directly Into Referring Physicians' EHRs
CriticalKey technology connects disparate systems to improve efficiency and convenience while speeding patient results
CriticalKey, LLC has signed a five-year contract with Beth Israel Medical Center to provide interoperability services that enable the 1,386-bed New York teaching hospital to electronically distribute radiology results directly to referring physicians. Leveraging CriticalKey's patent-pending KeyEngine software, Beth Israel can electronically insert patient results from its radiology information system into the patient's individual record in the participating physician's electronic health record (EHR) system, eliminating delays and errors from faxing or the need for doctors to actively seek out results by accessing them through cumbersome portals.
"CriticalKey allows us to offer a highly attractive service to affiliated physicians that is not available from other area hospitals," says Michael Abiri, MD, chairman of the department of radiology for Continuum Health Partners, which is the parent company of Beth Israel. "It is faster, more convenient, and more cost-effective, for both Beth Israel and our participating physicians."
Serving thousands of referring physicians by providing outpatient diagnostic imaging and other services, Beth Israel Medical Center plans an aggressive expansion of this technology to medical groups across New York City. To start, Beth Israel has implemented the KeyEngine capability with the more than 80 referring physicians at Manhattan's Physician Group and its multiple offices throughout New York.
"We experienced a significant improvement in productivity and doctor and patient satisfaction right from the start. We can spend more time focused on patients instead of chasing paperwork. In our first week alone, we were able to reassign a full-time employee whose sole job had been tracking down results," says Steve Vickner, chief information officer for Manhattan's Physician Group. "We rely on the CriticalKey technology for enhancing the experience and efficiency of our physicians."
After first providing its proprietary software and services to connect more than 25 different types of EMRs and other systems between clinical laboratories and providers, CriticalKey is rolling out valuable applications for hospitals like Beth Israel that serve large populations of referring physicians.
"It is our goal to improve the connection and relations between hospitals and their referring base," says Mike Gaeta, CriticalKey vice president of business development. "We understand the competitive hospital operating environment today, and having the ability to provide patient results automatically, electronically, gives hospitals a clear advantage."
About Beth Israel Medical Center
Beth Israel Medical Center, one of New York City's premier hospitals, has three major divisions located throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, serving the diverse populations of New York. Beth Israel serves as the Manhattan Campus for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. It is one of five hospitals comprising Continuum Health Partners, a not-for-profit hospital system.
About Manhattan's Physician Group
Manhattan's Physician Group is the borough's largest multispecialty medical group, offering high-quality and family-friendly medical services to the community. With more than 80 physicians in seven locations throughout Manhattan, we provide convenient, comprehensive, coordinated and continuous healthcare.
About CriticalKey
CriticalKey, LLC is a healthcare software and services company that helps providers build private electronic health information exchanges (HIEs.) Offering the only HIPAA-compliant HIE software with an integrated Master Patient Index, CriticalKey can seamlessly and securely link any health information systems to send and receive results, orders and other health data. Based in Oak Brook, IL, CriticalKey and its KeyEngine technology deliver immediate benefits and fast returns by fostering closer working relationships among providers, improving care and provider and patient satisfaction, and lowering costs.
SOURCE: CriticalKey, LLC