2013 IT Innovation Contest

A team-based contest for creative IT solutions

CareWeb Radiology Alert System

Proposal Status: 

a. Description:

CareWeb is a UCSF IT innovation and the premier project for the Center for Digital Health Innovation that integrates various disparate electronic communications information systems within UCSF. This integrated solution unifies electronic messaging with a social networking/microblogging motif to provide real-time streaming as well as “push” notifications via text-page. The data stream is instantly searchable and accessible by those within the patient care workflow. The solution can be accessed via any client with a browser or via an iphone client.

The CareWeb Radiology Alert System (CARESS), the current project, aims at integrating imaging procedure status data from the Radiology Information System (RIS) into the information stream presented by CareWeb. It will allow users to designate an alert status if and as a radiograph moves from ordering to protocol to scanning to completion to having been “read” preliminarily to being finalized. This integration allows access to real-time status updates on patient imaging procedures, and delivers them to a provider if and as the provider so selects.

b. Deliverables:

A special screen/UI element in CareWeb that displays information from the Radiology feed

* Leverages existing Mule Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) software as middleware for getting this data “into” CareWeb

* Ability to select a stage in a radiology exam’s  life cycle at which a provider can be alerted when that point has been reached.

This element is enabled by server software that extracts radiology imaging study status updates in real-time and posts them to CareWeb via the middleware as noted.

An update to the mobile client that allows providers to see updates to radiograph status on their iPhone.

c. Impact on UCSF's mission:

The immediate impact would be an improvement in workflow for UCSF providers due to a reduction in the need to contact Radiology to check on imaging status and/or constantly refresh the electronic medical record to find out when a study is completed. There would also be a dramatic improvement in patient care if providers could refocus their efforts on a given task in the knowledge that once an update was available, it would be “pushed” to them rather than them having to keep checking up on the status. Additionally this project would demonstrate that the CareWeb system can serve as a platform to facilitate integration of data from other patient care systems on campus, including pathology or labs, which have equally compelling use cases in this space.

d. List of team members:

Edwin Martin - technical architect - his experience will bring the technical team together to ensure CareWeb and the RIS  can communicate.

Raman Khanna – team leader – his experience as the lead for the CareWeb project will be critical towards getting this integration completed in a fashion consumable by providers.

Rodanni Pugeda – provide the technical integration within CareWeb such that RIS updates are displayed and triggers are written for the alert feature.

Donna Cummings – updates to the CareWeb Smart Client UI to allow display of imaging status updates, in a manner that can be scaled in the future to include additional lab information.

James Hawkins  - radiology technologist – develop the server side technology to post imaging study status updates to CareWeb through the Mule ESB to leverage existing integration mechanism already in place for sources such as pager. .

Wyatt Tellis - imaging informaticist and workflow subject matter expert - coordinate the export of exam status information from the radiology department’s  RIS

Vivek Swarnakar – radiology team lead – coordinate the efforts between the radiology and CareWeb teams.

e. Estimated Effort:

It is anticipated that most of the integration work can be completed within 40 hrs using existing infrastructure on CARESS.

The mobile client updates would require 40 hrs additionally.

Non-development team members would be required to spend about 10 hrs each testing the integrated solution.

Comments

Selected feedback from reviewers:

Immediately relevant to radiology, too narrow focus/benefit.

Commenting is closed.