Westmount Square Medical Imaging

A Montreal-based radiology practice grows from one imaging center to five, empowered by Intelerad’s IntelePACS solution – providing high-performance, robust image management and intuitive workflow – from its inception.

Westmount Square Medical Imaging (WSMI) provides diagnostic and interventional medical imaging services to patients throughout the city of Montreal, Quebec. Providing a streamlined alternative to hospital congestion, WSMI offers multiple private imaging center locations in Canada’s second-largest city.

Since launching its first imaging center in May 2001 with 15 radiologists, WSMI has grown steadily. Today, more than 30 radiologists own and operate WSMI, which will soon open its fifth location serving the population of Montreal. The highly specialized radiologists provide expert interpretation for every imaging modality.

The WSMI practice was formed to ensure the highest possible quality of care for patients in the Montreal area. The practice’s state-of-the-art private clinics offer high caliber medical imaging services in a streamlined setting and friendly environment, helping patients avoid hospital wait-times and bottlenecks.

WSMI operates in a digital environment using the most recent imaging equipment and software to ensure optimal services to physicians and patients. Patient images are stored and archived digitally, and referring physicians can quickly, easily, and securely access their patients’ reports and images electronically.

From its inception, WSMI has used Intelerad’s IntelePACS system to store and manage patient data. As WSMI has evolved from a small, one-clinic practice to the present multi-site operation with double the radiologists, IntelePACS has supported and enabled the growth of the business.

Managing the steady growth of a radiology enterprise is challenging. Peter Kriticos, a PACS Administrator for WSMI for 10 years, has been closely involved in all the IT and PACS infrastructure details from the beginning.

“It would be extremely difficult to manage our growth without the stability of the Intelerad company and its software,” Kriticos says. “The stability is very important for us and a critical business advantage for this clinic.”

IntelePACS has scaled seamlessly to handle larger and larger amounts of WSMI patient data – now topping more than 800 terabytes – without degradation in performance or reliability. As the practice has expanded, its IntelePACS installation has evolved from a single server to multi-site servers, with IntelePACS auto-routing and pre-fetching data for optimum performance. “It has worked very smoothly for us,” says Kriticos.

IntelePACS has also enabled critical improvements in workflow and operational efficiency as the WSMI practice has grown. With twice the radiologists performing interpretations for five times the number of imaging centers, operational efficiency is critical to maintaining the practice’s high level of service that is key to its differentiated business approach.

Initially, WSMI radiologists were always located on-site at the practice’s single location. Now, they access IntelePACS remotely to read and report studies from any location. IntelePACS intuitive, high-performance viewer supports multi-specialty reading and reporting. Patient priors can be automatically located across disparate databases, enhancing the interpretation and drastically reducing turnaround time.

Furthermore, IntelePACS enables WSMI to offer flexible results delivery to referring physicians, which ultimately results in increased referrals as well as enhanced patient care.

WSMI’s successful record of using Intelerad technology is more than a decade long. Dr. Adel Assaf, the CEO and Chief Radiologist of WSMI, says there are several reasons for the longevity of the relationship. “The IntelePACS product is a very robust product,” he says, “and it is very user friendly for the radiologists.”

Dr. Assaf’s high level of satisfaction also extends to Intelerad’s support and service. “We are extremely happy with Intelerad,” he says. “The service is excellent.”

Kriticos concurs. “We receive such good support service from Intelerad,” he says, remarking on the personal and individualized interactions with technical support reps as well as account managers. “There is no way we would be able to do this without the support that we get from Intelerad.”