Dallas -- Piedmont Fayette Hospital, part of the Piedmont Healthcare system in Atlanta, has selected SOURCECORP's mammoTAP solution for the archiving of its existing mammography exams, as the site transitions to a Full-Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) environment. SOURCECORP's mammoTAP solution combines off-site storage and management of all hardcopy prior mammography exams with on-demand film digitizing and Internet file transmission directly into an imaging site's PACS archive. In addition to benefiting from an all-digital film reading environment immediately following FFDM conversion, SOURCECORP mammoTAP also enabled Piedmont Fayette to free up space previously devoted to hardcopy film archiving and better manage staffing demands.

According Greg Woods, Executive Director of Patient Services for Piedmont Fayette, "The hospital elected to implement a department-wide conversion to a digital mammography environment rather than implement it in phases. We replaced our five analog image acquisition devices with four FFDM units simultaneously. For our busy Women's Imaging Center with a volume of 13,000 screening mammograms annually, this was a major transition. Thanks, in part, to SOURCECORP's TAP, everything went like clockwork."

Piedmont Hospital, the system's flagship facility, unlike Piedmont Fayette, had converted to FFDM in phases several years prior and initially began working in a dual-format imaging environment. Because of the workflow and diagnostic challenges to radiologists, shortly thereafter, it decided to digitize all prior exams in-house.
Based on the experience of Piedmont Hospital, Piedmont Fayette believed that digitizing priors in-house would be a major bottleneck for support staff workflow, an unnecessary burden to the entire imaging department and might require added personnel. "Many sites falsely believe that a digital conversion cuts down on the need for film room staffing," comments Woods. "But when you are digitizing every prior, staffing needs typically remain the same or even increase."

He added, "We went digital, in part, to realize new efficiencies, but digitizing films in-house threatened to hamper our efficient workflow."

After conducting a search for a combined storage and digitization service, Piedmont Fayette discovered that few existed but did examine two such suppliers. "The SOURCECORP TAP solution offered uniquely personalized service and competitive pricing. We even were able to meet with the specific staff member responsible for running the offsite file room service in advance of signing the contract," said Woods.

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