A Better Way to Communicate With Referring Providers
One of the biggest challenges that radiologists face is results communication with referring providers, which are the medical professionals that have directed a patient to a radiology exam. Radiology tests results are typically shared by fax or via administrative staff members who call the referring provider’s office. In addition to being costly and time-consuming for the radiology practice, results can fall through the cracks, which can delay critical care and increase medical liability risk for referring providers.
According to a recent analysis in the Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal, radiologists in one large emergency department spent approximately 10 percent of their day communicating test results over the phone over and above the time spent by front office staff. While a phone call about urgent findings can be life-saving, a phone call about non-urgent results can take away important resources from those that need them the most. A more automated and efficient system for identifying follow-ups and communicating with referring is needed – particularly for the large volume of non-urgent follow ups such as lung nodules, renal cysts, adrenal cysts, thyroid nodules, or hypatoma surveillance.
Over the last year, Within Health has developed an end-to end solution that streamlines the tracking, communication, and closure of radiology recommendations. The company has built a modular solution with three core components:
Within Health Identify – Using a form of artificial intelligence known as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Within Health can identify missed follow-ups and recommendations in radiology reports
Within Health Engage – The platform can create highly flexible referring provider (and patient) communication workflows with the ability to personalize messaging sequence, content, and channels (including text messages, email, web push notifications, and Whatsapp)
Within Health Convert – Finally, with their user friendly ePrescription tools, Within Health can generate scripts and load them into a work list for referring providers to review and approve
By offering an easily accessible, integrated solution that encourages more direct and efficient tracking and communication, Within Health is the ultimate platform that connects radiologists and referring providers. The result, fewer things fall through the cracks, creating a more cohesive experience for medical providers and patients.
