Patients Deserve Care Close to Home

Patients shouldn’t have to travel long distances for medical care. If forced to travel, many patients choose to stay home, which can lead to disastrous outcomes. Or, if patients decide to make the trip, by the time they arrive at the hospital, their condition has worsened.

Heart Care Imaging believes patients deserve care close to home. So HCI provides as many services as possible to ensure there are premium healthcare options in your community. The way we provide patient care also financially benefits the hospital, so the hospital can care for the community instead of worrying about the budget.

HCI has been working in the critical access hospital and rural health community for years, so we understand the unique challenges of this market. We know what is required for your medical facility to be successful, and our expertise leads to a higher number of accurately ordered tests, increased hospital revenue, and improved patient care.

Heart Care Imaging is more than an equipment, personnel, or service provider. After providing clients with imaging solutions for over two decades, we know exactly what you are looking for — and provide everything you need. Let our team of industry experts help grow your facility to its fullest potential.

Please review our Case Study, highlighting recent success in the implementation of nuclear services through our partnership with a Critical Access Hospital. In a short time we have experienced great progress, adding to the hospital’s bottom-line while improving patient care in the community.

View Case Study

TELEMEDICINE

HCI embraces Telemedicine as a natural extension of the imaging and treatment services provided to partners in rural Critical Access Hospitals. As the regulatory environment continues to open up for Telemedicine, HCI is poised to provide lifesaving diagnostic and treatment services using the latest technology. Partner with HCI and we will become your trusted Telemedicine consultant as well as your equipment and personnel provider.

CASE STUDY

CAH Hospital Boosts Quality Care and Bottom Line with Nuclear Medicine Program

Overview

Like most CAH facilities, this specific hospital is located in an underserved rural area. Patients prefer to receive their medical care ‘at home,’ but typically are required to travel to medical centers in larger cities to receive many of the necessary diagnostic tests. This results in a hardship for the patient, a loss of revenue for the hospital, patients being absorbed into the care of the larger medical center, and/or patients foregoing care due to the hardship involved in traveling.

As mentioned, this case study reviews the implementation of a nuclear medicine service. Nuclear medicine is used to diagnose a wide range of disease including cardiac, gallbladder, cancer, gastric and lung. Hospitalists, cardiologists, internal medicine physicians, and family practice physicians find it to be a valuable tool. However, due to the capital equipment costs, personnel costs, and licensing requirements, it is not offered at many Critical Access Hospital (CAH) facilities.

HCI has been providing nuclear services for small and large facilities since 1998. The management of HCI has more than three decades of experience in the industry, allowing HCI to source equipment and personnel in a manner that overcomes many of the obstacles that prevent CAH facilities from providing this important service.

In this particular case, HCI provided a state-of-the-art nuclear medicine camera, computer, hot lab and treadmill.

HCI provided personnel based on the needs of the facility, eliminating the need for a F/T technologist. HCI worked with the hospital to educate physicians, physician extenders, and patients, by sponsoring open houses, news advertisements, and personal calls on referring physicians.

Working with the hospital management, a small but suitable site was located. HCI’s physicist provided the necessary paperwork for the hospital to apply for the new license. After the initial license application, the hospital requested some administrative changes to the paperwork. HCI provided the necessary support for license amendments. Drawings specifications, provided by HCI and their service team, enabled the hospital engineering team to prep the site for delivery of the equipment.

The equipment was delivered and installed as planned.

The treadmill was installed and later moved to accommodate additional non- nuclear patients. HCI personnel worked with hospital personnel and physicians to ensure stress tests were performed efficiently and properly. HCI provided the necessary support for a Radiation Safety Officer and the required safety meetings. The initial inspection was flawless.

Financially, the project has been successful for the hospital. Service is provided two full days per week. Initially, volume started at 10 scans in the first month, but has grown steadily each month since.

Today, we are scanning over 30 patients per month. Based on referring physician’s requests, we are looking to add one to two half-days per week to accommodate emergency scans. Volume grew due to physician and patient education about nuclear medicine, as well as the availability of the service.

HCI provided support for open houses, personal visits, and follow-up visits, referring physicians, local newspaper advertisement of the service, marketing flyers, press releases and more.

At a volume of 30 scans per month (divided 70% cardiac and 30% general nuclear), the hospital is netting $6,500 per month, or almost $80,000 per year. The attainable goal of the hospital is 40 scans per month. At the previously mentioned split between cardiac and general nuclear tests, the hospital will net in excess of $160,000 per year. This financial analysis does not take into account the additional revenue generated by keeping the patients in town, the expense savings that result due to quickly diagnosing and treating patients, or the marketing expense savings included in our program.

In conclusion, the partnership with HCI has enabled the hospital to provide a necessary service for their patient population, while positively adding to the hospital’s bottom line. HCI’s program has provided a model that fosters growth, improves patient care, and provides the community access to advanced medical technology.