Collaborating with HUSM at Every Step of its Imaging IT TransformationHospital USM (HUSM), nestled in the distant corners of Malaysia, envisions itself as a Center of Excellence delivering healthcare through technology. Its radiology department is one of the most advanced in the country, replete with the latest imaging modalities providing sophisticated diagnostic services to a sizable chunk of the population in peninsular Malaysia, while also playing a critical role in medical education and training.GE Healthcare has been a trusted Imaging IT partner to HUSM for over 15 years, significant credit of which goes to GE’s Centricity™ Services team. The GE Centricity Services team has developed close personal and professional relations with the HUSM Department of Radiology through deep understanding of the client’s challenges and aspirations, Imaging IT knowledge, comprehensive and insightful consulting services, and dedicated day-to-day support. As a result, HUSM has chosen to continue with GE Healthcare through multiple generations of PACS while progressing on its goal of establishing a high-tech medical imaging environment.

Client Aspirations

HUSM wants to establish a world-class teaching hospital equipped with the latest tools and technologies. Its goal is to deliver high quality care by leveraging cutting-edge IT solutions that benefit hospital staff as well as patients.

Client Challenges and Emerging Needs

The hospital’s existing PACS was over a decade old and thus, did not optimally support workflow automation and department integration. The product was approaching its end-of-life, leading to ad-hoc performance issues. Furthermore, emerging innovative models of care delivery through medical imaging and teaching practices required HUSM to be able to seamlessly transmit imaging data across geographically dispersed locations, a functionality which was becoming a challenge with the current PACS. However, in spite of acknowledging the need for an imaging IT overhaul, HUSM management allowed very limited budget for the system upgrade.

GE Solution

HUSM has been a GE Healthcare client since the deployment of GE Pathspeed PACS in 2000. In 2010 HUSM moved to GE Centricity PACS-IW which was upgraded to Centricity Universal Viewer in 2015. Over the years, the GE Centricity Services team has been working closely with the Department of Radiology, supporting them on day-to-day maintenance and trouble-shooting and advising them on intermittent system upgrades. The team conducted in-depth business analysis for HUSM through discussions with various organization stakeholders and was able to provide a more advanced PACS solution which adequately met all their current and future needs and even fit the client’s budget. During project implementation there were issues with data migration and integrity due to the outdated PACS. GE Centricity Services team went out of its way to adjust the implementation schedule and deploy additional resources and workflows to mitigate the impact of data issues.

Client Outcome

HUSM has successfully transitioned to the new system through a well-planned implementation that met the hospital’s budget and timelines. Even after months of deployment GE Centricity Services team continues to support HUSM on day-to-day data issues and is working on a long-term resolution. Additionally the team has also addressed related PACS requirements to ensure the client is able to gain an optimum return on its investment.

The client takes pride and comfort in knowing that the GE Centricity Services team understands HUSM’s aspirations, needs and challenges well. GE team has developed a close trust-based relation with the Department of Radiology, which allows it to meet and exceed client expectations on both short- and long-term engagements.

Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Teaching and Referral Hospital opened doors in 1983 with the goal of establishing itself as a Center of Excellence, providing high quality care through the latest techniques and technologies. The modest 900-bed facility is a key referral center on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia as well as a flagship teaching hospital supporting growth and development of medical services in the country. The HUSM Department of Radiology provides advance imaging techniques, such as, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) Scanning, Fluroscopy, Ultrasound, Mammography, Bone Densitometry and Plain Radiology while specializing in highly needed healthcare areas including Interventional Imaging, Musculoskeletal Imaging, Cardiac Imaging, Neuroimaging, Pediatric Imaging and Women’s Health. It is the largest Interventional Radiology center on the east coast while also a key referral hospital for Oncology.

HUSM recognizes the role of technology in supporting advances in Radiology while also enabling high quality care, efficient clinical workflows as well as close collaboration with other universities and teaching hospitals, such as, Universiti Sains Malaysia Engineering Campus (USMEC), Universiti Technology Malaysia (UTM) and Institut Perubatan & Pergigian Termaju (IPPT). For this reason, it has invested in advance Imaging Information Technology (Imaging IT) solutions and continues to upgrade its systems and facilities to support better care and education.

Long Term Partner

GE Healthcare has been supporting HUSM for over 15 years with high quality Imaging IT solutions. HUSM was one of the earliest adopters of GE’s first generation solution, GE Pathspeed PACS. Since then the client upgraded to GE Centricity PACS-IW in 2010 and then further to Centricity Universal Viewer in 2015. Over the decades, GE has built close relations with HUSM that help both organizations understand each other well. GE Centricity Services team recognizes HUSM’s long-term vision and goals and are able to translate this knowledge into high value professional consulting services for the Department of Radiology. The success of this partnership lies in the fact that HUSM has returned to GE for both incremental and large-scale upgrades to its Imaging IT solutions.

Supporting Business Transformation

Imaging IT has been progressively penetrating the market over the last decade with sophisticated solutions finding applications in both public and private sector. Malaysian hospitals acknowledge the need for digitization in Radiology because they have experienced the benefits of moving to a film-less environment. However, IT knowledge and skills amongst healthcare professionals are limited and thus, providers need constant guidance and advice in helping them invest in the right solution.

GE Centricity Services team has played a vital role in helping the Department of Radiology evolve into a technologically advanced diagnostic facility. The team was instrumental in helping HUSM deploy appropriate solutions back in 2004. These systems reached the end of their life-cycle and were beginning to cause trouble due to the outdated modules. To help HUSM advance further, GE team had in-depth discussions with the Department of Radiology on the solutions and architecture that the client needs as part of a strategic IT transformation. Based on a detailed understanding of HUSM’s current workflows and their thorough conversations regarding the hospital’s future needs and plans, GE was able to provide sound solution options that satisfied the customer.

Enabling the Next-Generation Imaging IT Environment

Being a public-sector teaching hospital, HUSM is constantly faced with budget constraints.

This is why the client waited until the very end of the PACS’ life-cycle before considering an upgrade. By this time data storage, management and quality had also started suffering in addition to workflow issues experienced by hospital staff. Not only was the existing solution nearing its end-of-life, it was also limited in functionality because it had originally been implemented within the Radiology department only. With other hospital departments moving to digital systems, the Department of Radiology needed a more interoperable and better integrated solution.

In spite of all these technological hurdles, the senior management was still wary of investment and had only limited budget for the upgrade.

GE Healthcare came to the rescue by designing a new PACS solution

During implementation there were issues with data migration because the previous systems were so outdated.

GE Centricity Services team handled this situation well by informing the client well in advance of the technical issues as well as providing suitable resolutions that helped recover the data. The team also elegantly adjusted the implementation schedule so that data risks could be mitigated and suitable recovery systems could be established in accordance with existing workflows. Due to the timely action taken by GE team the client confidently labels the implementation as smooth.

Centricity Services team continues to support HUSM in handling ad-hoc system issues. GE is currently managing two database layers during the migration period at no additional cost to ensure critical data is not lost and the team is able to resolve any issues or break-downs that may arise during this period. The client highly appreciates this additional effort provided by GE.

Providing Valuable Continuous Support

System implementation is not the end of the story. Far more effort goes into ensuring that the deployed IT systems meet the client’s expectations and that the client is able to harness the full potential of the deployment. As with most Malaysian hospitals, HUSM has limited in-house IT resources. The limited IT team is burdened by constant queries and issues raised by doctors and nurses, including questions on functionalities, errors or glitches in the system, or even complete system breakdowns. On top of that, other IT constraints, such as poor internet bandwidth, negatively impact PACS performance creating tension and frustration in the Department of Radiology.

GE has always been ready to help clients face these day-to-day challenges with a smile. It has served HUSM on numerous such occasions to ensure up-to-the-mark system performance, even beyond regular working hours. GE Centricity Services team has designed intelligent alternatives that address general IT issues at HUSM so that PACS performance remains top-notch. For instance, collaborating organizations like IPPT had challenges accessing PACS images, which were stored in a server located at HUSM due to network bandwidth. GE team provided an innovative solution whereby IPPT radiologists were redirected to access PACS images from the business continuity server. This significantly improved system performance at IPPT without any additional investment from HUSM.

To maintain daily operations, GE provides round-the-clock assistance to HUSM to ensure business continuity and immediate error mitigation. GE also provides training and coaching to HUSM IT staff, both at the time of implementation and on a timely basis, to ensure they are aware of the latest functionalities and are able to use the system to its maximum performance.

Building a Long Lasting Relationship

HUSM believes that IT is the cornerstone for the Department of Radiology, enabling it to perform tasks and services that could not have been possible without the appropriate solutions. It has plans to invest in functionalities, such as analytics tools, data security systems, sophisticated communication solutions, and performance dashboards that will help improve diagnosis and efficiency. However, HUSM cannot embark upon this transformation journey all by itself; it needs a partner and adviser along the way.

HUSM Department of Radiology has chosen GE Healthcare to act as a trusted IT advisor for their long-term IT transformation. GE has been supporting HUSM with their immediate and short-term needs as well as advising the hospital on radiology best practices that could be implemented at HUSM. In this process GE Centricity Services team has nurtured a close relationship with HUSM for over a decade, through which both organizations agree that they understand each other well and are familiar with each others’ strengths and limitations. GE’s high quality strategic advice has been instrumental in building strong personal bonds that allow HUSM to trust the GE team. To meet its long-term goals HUSM has great expectations from GE and hopes that the Centricity Services team will be as enthusiastic of continuing the relation as HUSM itself.

For me, the GE team has been very

approachable. I feel the GE Centricity

Services team understands our

requirements and limitations very well.

That is why they are able to help us

and work with us. If possible we would

certainly want to continue and build on the

long-term relationship with GE.

PACS system has improved the radiology

department because the new PACS system

that we are currently using has more

function. I think it has also improved the

quality of diagnosis. If GE has software to

measure the performance of the system,

for example, the user’s satisfaction,

time taken for image to load, we would

use it…. We would want GE to be our IT

strategy advisor because we have been

GE’s client for 15 years. I would say that

GE and HUSM understand each other very

well.

Associate Professor Dr. Ezane Mohd AzizLecturer at the Department of Radiology,Chairman of the IT Committee

En. Nik Fauriza Nik LahPACS Administrator, HUSM

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imagin and information technologies, medical diagnostics patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our ‘healthymagination’ vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $16 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more that 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more that 100 countries.

For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com

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