Simplified Image Delivery
Medical images had been provided to patients and referring physicians on CDs – a costly and time-consuming process as patients needed to schedule a pick-time for their images and travel in-person to the patient records office. In addition, with the rise of 3D mammography, DVD copies, which can take well over an hour to create, added to patient wait time and higher costs for the facility. Today, with Ambra Health, CDs and DVDs are being phased out and medical image upload time through the cloud takes less than three minutes. Secure, electronic sharing of images provides a simple alternative to image distribution via CD and offers significant benefits to both care providers and patients.
“When looking for cloud image management vendors, it was very important to us that the organization had worked with enterprise systems before. Ambra was a best-of-breed cloud image management vendor and had the experience that we were looking for.”– Chad Brisendine Chief Information Officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Patient Uploads
Once a patient shares medical images with St. Luke’s, they are given the ability to create an account to store medical images in a personal health record, saving staff from having to burn error-prone CDs. Patients can access their accounts at any time to view and share their images.
In addition, admissions and check-in staff can also upload a patient’s prior medical images from CDs with Ambra’s easy-to- use one-click CD uploader so that studies are available even before the patient is roomed, saving precious time during physician consults.
“With Ambra, uploading and sharing imaging through the cloud occurs in under three minutes, a massive decrease in the hours previously wasted on creating CDs and DVDs, scheduling pick-up times, and delivery.”– Chad Brisendine Chief Information Officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network
Share Images Securely Across the Web & Consult with Other Physicians
Ambra’s web-based image sharing portal can share imaging through a series of secure web-links. Physicians and staff can send a branded version of the imaging portal directly to patients and referring physicians who can share imaging in return without using VPNs or CDs.
Using Ambra’s consulting physician workflow, physicians can share a link to the Ambra viewer with another physician to collaborate. The viewer link has a set expiration date and only allows the image to be viewed in the Ambra viewer rather than fully downloaded.
St. Luke’s University Health Network is a non-profit, fully integrated, nationally recognized network that provides services at seven hospitals and more than 200 sites throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. With over 61,000 annual patient admissions,1,341 physicians, and 229,000 annual emergency room visits, medical image exchange throughout the wide network is an enormous part of successful data management and patient care at St. Luke’s. As an institution focused on innovation, St. Luke’s looks towards technology as a method of empowering patients to take control of their own healthcare and to actively provide higher quality care as healthcare costs rise. Historically, medical images had been provided to patients and referring physicians on CDs – a costly and time-consuming process. Today, with Ambra Health, CDs and DVDs are being phased out and medical image upload time through the cloud takes less than three minutes.