Kodak’s Information ManagementSolution Automates LifecycleManagement of Images, Documents

Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Ill.,

was at a crossroads.

The 562-bed community hospital needed to replace agingradiology and cardiology PACS systems. As part of thatprocess, departmental managers wanted to providecentralized, enterprise-wide access to radiology, cardiologyand oncology imaging studies by linking these systems intothe facility’s IBM storage area network (SAN). They alsowanted to establish automated lifecycle management ofthese studies to reduce administrative overhead.

Although it was an ambitious undertaking, the hospital isnow reaping the rewards of a more productive andefficient workflow, and has achieved the centralized accessand lifecycle management they desired.

“The KODAK CARESTREAM PACS has a scaleable web-based architecture thatsupports advanced interpre-tation tools, fully featuredaccess by remote physiciansand easy integration withother information systemsand our SAN infras-tructure,” notes TracyBrown-Hagmann, PACSAdministrator. “Scalability isalso extremely importantsince we are currentlyprocessing more than200,000 radiology

imaging exams a year. Ournew PACS can grow with us inthe coming years and easilyhandle double that volume.”

She adds: “Kodak’s PACS alsodelivers exceptional speed andperformance. The radiologists,referring physicians andtechnologists are all extremelypleased with its features andfunctionality.”

The team then turned itsattention to selecting andimplementing a management tool for its imaging studiesthrough the use of Kodak’s CARESTREAM EnterpriseInformation Management (EIM). This solution deliversclinical information lifecycle management of images andinformation across a variety of platforms. Automatedmanagement simultaneously eliminates time-consumingand resource-intensive manual processes by IT staff. It alsoensures that data and images are maintained on-lineduring periods of peak use and near-line or off-line duringperiods when access is unlikely.

Centralized Management Delivers Benefits

The hospital purchased Kodak’s EIM platform to centralizemanagement of radiology, cardiology and oncologyimaging studies. Radiology imaging studies are beingaccessed today and the team is working to bring cardi-ology and oncology imaging studies online as well.

Memorial Medical Center

Cover photo: The

Memorial Medical

Center campus in

Springfield, Ill.

Near right: PACS

manager Tracy Brown-

Hagmann talks with

radiology technician

Wayne Barber, RT(R).

Far right: Radiologist

Lucy Christopherson,

MD, reads an imaging

exam using a Kodak

Carestream PACS

workstation.

“Scalability is alsoextremely importantsince we are currentlyprocessing more than200,000 radiologyimaging exams ayear. Our new PACScan grow with us inthe coming years andeasily handle doublethat volume.”— Tracy Brown-Hagmann, PACSAdministrator

“Kodak’s PACS alsodelivers exceptionalspeed andperformance. Theradiologists,referring physiciansand technologistsare all extremelypleased with itsfeatures andfunctionality.”— Tracy Brown-Hagmann, PACSAdministrator

“Kodak’s EIM platformallows us to develop andapply storage plans thatdictate how long eachstudy will be kept, whatmedia it will be written toaccording to its age andwhen it can be purgedfrom our records,”explains Kathy Ambs,Radiology Director.

EIM software reads 32 different DICOM fields and appliesuser-specific storage plans. The hospital’s radiology, cardi-ology and oncology teams worked together to develop 13different storage plans. These plans are automaticallyapplied by the software according to the type of study, i.e.pediatric, mammography, general radiology, oncology,cardiology and others.

“Kodak was the only vendor we met with that offereduser-defined storage plans. Two other vendors told us theywould have this capability in a few years,” said Brown-Hagmann. Kodak’s EIM platform also offers a datamigration tool that will be used to move data from theprevious PACS archive to the current storage platform in alast in, first out strategy.

Web-Based Distribution System ProvidesAdvanced Tools

As part of the PACS installation, the hospital also installed aWeb-based distribution system from Kodak that makesimaging studies available to remote physicians. The new distri-bution system is extremely popular because it is easy to useand because it allows remote physicians to employ advancedfunctionality (normally found only on diagnostic workstations)regardless of the type of workstation they are using.

“The ability to use advanced tools is especially importantwhen on-call surgeons are reviewing imaging studiesremotely,” notes Radiology Manager Karen Mitchell. “Thesurgeons at our hospital and other on-call specialists lovethis system. It equips them with the information they needto make treatmentdecisions in minutes andprovides better patient care.”

The new Web distributionsystem also provides accessto a global worklist, soremote users can view alltypes of imaging studies.This streamlines workflowin many situations, Mitchelladds.

“Kodak was the onlyvendor we met withthat offered user-defined storage plans.Two other vendors toldus they would havethis capability in a fewyears.”— Tracy Brown-Hagmann, PACSAdministrator

“The surgeons at ourhospital and other on-call specialists lovethis system. It equipsthem with the infor-mation they need tomake treatmentdecisions in minutesand provides betterpatient care.”— Karen Mitchell,Radiology Manager

Outside the U.S. and Canada, please contact your local Kodak company.

www.kodak.com/go/ims

Kodak is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. M1-851 Printed in USA 10/06 © Eastman Kodak Company, 2006.

Health GroupEASTMAN KODAK COMPANY343 State StreetRochester, NY 146501-877-TO-KODAK (1-877-865-6325)

KODAK CANADA INC.6 Monogram Place, Suite 200Toronto, Ontario M9R 0A11-800-440-3336

“Kodak’s EIM platformallows us to developand apply storageplans that dictate howlong each study willbe kept, what media itwill be written toaccording to its ageand when it can bepurged from ourrecords.” — Kathy Ambs,Radiology Director

Smooth Implementation, Integration with IBM SAN

The hospital’s new PACS and EIM solution went live in the lastquarter of 2005 without a glitch, thanks to the tireless efforts of aKodak project management team and the hospital’s IT and radiologystaffs.

The Kodak project manager earned high praise from Memorial HealthSystem’s Senior Vice President and CIO Kerra Guffey.

“The Kodak project manager was extremely knowledgeable aboutboth the KODAK PACS and the process,” Guffey reports. “Sheoutlined each step that needed to be taken to accomplish a smoothimplementation and held everyone accountable for the action itemand the time frame. She also worked closely with our IT staff, whichwas essential since Kodak’s PACS was being integrated into ourcentralized storage architecture.”

Radiology Director Kathy Ambs (left) and

Radiology Manager Karen Mitchell discuss the

excellent image quality provided by Kodak’s

Web-based distribution system.