Trauma

Trauma Care: When Timing Is Everything.

For trauma patients, it’s critical to have the right images, at the right time. And yet with transfers, images often arrive on a CD with a the patient, if at all. Timely exchange of complex imaging studies is critical for trauma teams treating patients through multiple care settings. That’s where Life Image comes into play —connecting and collaborating in real-time—because time is not wasted on unreliable CDs, a patient can bypass the ER and head right into surgery. With Life Image, every person at the trauma center can be a collaborator.

Each year, trauma accounts for 41 million emergency department visits and 2.3 million hospital admissions across the nation, according to the CDC. Many of these are transfers to level 1 or 2 trauma centers and include images, typically CT exams. Unfortunately, CDs remain the primary means for image transfer, despite their many challenges and inefficiencies. Trauma centers report having to rescan patients anywhere from 24% to 62% of cases. These unnecessary exams delay care for patients in critical condition, increase overall costs to the healthcare system and hurt margins for the trauma center.

Life Image in Action: Level 1 Tertiary Care Trauma Center

Repeat imaging declined

Repeat imaging declined from 62 percent to 47 percent in the 6 months after implementing Life Image network.

Reducing radiation exposure and costs

Imaging per patient dropped 18.7 percent ($413 vs. $333; P less than .01), while total imaging costs declined from $401,765 to $326,756 during the same period.

Image sharing during trauma patient transfers

PACS files and patient record numbers have already been merged before the patient arrives in the trauma bay.

The Benefits

Giving clinicians dependable image exchange to execute on commitments for improving the quality of patient care:

Save Time: Expedite patient care by eliminating time wasted waiting to upload CDs and view images.
Save Patients: Avoid unnecessary transfers and make diagnostic decisions sooner.
Save Money: Avoid unnecessary and often unreimbursed repeat scans when CDs are lost, forgotten or unreadable.

Optimizing Image Workflows

Trauma departments using Life Image save time and avoid unnecessary rescans during patient transfers to trauma units. This permits staff to focus on patient-centered work and improves existing workflows, including integration into EMRs. Easy access to imaging content from any source helps the entire health system improve care and outcomes.

With Life Image:

Image sharing can be easily integrated into your trauma workflows. Exams arrive in minutes, while the patient is being transferred.
Frequent trauma referral sites can send exams to you directly from PACS or even a modality.
Trauma centers can invite referring hospitals to send studies electronically by emailing a secure URL (no VPN required) on an ad hoc basis, allowing the site to upload exams at the point of transfer.