Advanced Radiology Consultants

In 1905, a small group of doctors agreed to work together to provide coordinated radiology services at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut. That marked the start of Advanced Radiology Consultants, LLC, which today provides the highest-quality general radiology, fluoroscopy, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, CT scan and nuclear medicine services. Advanced Radiology Consultants (ARC) now serves patients of Bridgeport Hospital, St. Vincent’s Medical Center and seven outpatient facilities in the area.

ARC radiologists are some of the most experienced in the region, and it shows in the quality of patient care and in peer recognition. ARC was named to Radiology Business Journal’s fourth annual ranking of The 75 Largest Private Radiology Practices, was included in Imaging Economics’ list of The Best of 2011 Radiology Facilities, and was also included in Health Imaging & IT’s 2011 Top 25 Connected Healthcare Facilities.

One of the largest private practices in the state of Connecticut, Advanced Radiology Consultants now includes more than 30 radiologists.

“I think one of the keys to our success has been early adoption of technologies that make us more efficient and help us provide better service, and most importantly, enable us to improve patient care,” said Dr. Gerard Muro, Radiologist, specializing in Interventional and Neuroradiology. “We were one of the first private practices in our region to use PACS, which allowed us to become much more subspecialized.”

ARC has been using IntelePACS^® since 2003, featuring workflow integration to a couple of different RIS solutions. In 2010, InteleOne^® was added to incorporate their hospital reading.

“We could tell right from the beginning that Intelerad is committed to its clients,” he said. “They truly listen to the needs of the radiologists and they develop products that are very powerful yet very easy and intuitive to use.”

In 2010, ARC faced the significant challenge of integrating two disparate PACS solutions at St. Vincent’s Medical Center. Intelerad’s InteleOne distributed radiology solution was selected to provide a unified reading environment with seamless access to images and reports.

“Without this solution, our ability to provide subspecialized care would have been significantly compromised, as well as our productivity and efficiency,” said Dr. Muro. “However, InteleOne brought both systems together as one.”

He noted that because heathcare and the supporting technology have been changing dramatically, it is crucial to partner with companies that understand the future of technology and how to integrate it now. “Intelerad has always been several steps ahead, allowing us to adapt and evolve with these changes effectively,” he said.

Thanks to InteleOne, which provides direct access to studies, priors and reports, ARC’s highly trained specialists can provide final interpretations 24×7. A single, highly productive environment, InteleOne enables radiologists to efficiently and collaboratively perform real-time professional readings around the clock, regardless of where radiologists and patients are located. With InteleOne, reports are effectively standardized, enabling more efficient and complete communication with hospital doctors.”

“It’s clear that our workflow has greatly improved,” said Dr. Muro. “Turnaround time is reduced, which is particularly important in the hospital setting or with an acutely ill outpatient. Our referring physicians have instant access to their patient’s imaging information, regardless of where it is. There’s no more having to switch back and forth between systems. The easy availability for all prior examinations means there’s no delay.”

A key for ARC is the ability to read from anywhere, using InteleOne’s remote reading functionality. This has improved ARC’s scheduling process, since it no longer has to ensure that certain employees are located in specific offices. The result of this flexibility is greater efficiency.

“Over the last several years we’ve expanded across the entire state,” said Dr. Muro. “We are not geographically limited in any way.” The bottom line result is improved patient care, said Dr. Muro. “We can offer quality subspecialized interpretations,” he said. “Having instant access to prior examinations is critical to a meaningful interpretation.”

The customer service and problem-solving abilities of Intelerad have been a constant ally in ARC’s push to offer improved patient care while enhancing its efficiency. “The service and reliability have been excellent,” said Dr. Muro. “Our administration and our referring physicians have been extremely pleased.”

“I think Intelerad recognizes the fact that most users, whether it be a radiologist, technologist or a referring physician may not be very tech savvy. They have provided a product that everybody would feel comfortable with, yet have all the features that are critical to our radiology practice.”