ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 1 -- Eastman Kodak Companys Health Group recently launched KODAK Business Diagnostics Services, focused consulting services that enable healthcare facilities to deliver improved productivity, dramatic revenue gains and reduced waste when implementing new digital imaging technologies, including picture archiving and communications systems (PACS).

Industry consultants report more than half of facilities that installed PACS over the last three years have not realized projected productivity and revenue gains, said Diana Nole, General Manager, Business Strategy, Product Management and Marketing, Kodaks Health Group. This indicates the need for consulting services like KODAK Business Diagnostic Services that target inefficiencies and identify process improvements not only within the radiology department, but also in the delivery of imaging services to clinicians, staff and other users.

As part of this new service, Kodak engineers will collect performance and productivity data through analysis of a healthcare providers environment and compare these statistics to similar facilities within a proprietary national database of more than 200 healthcare institutions. The Kodak team will then use lean-methodology processes to make recommendations to help improve performance.

Healthcare facilities can contract for this service as part of a digital conversion or after digital technologies have been installed. These services are offered independently and do not require the purchase of Kodak products and systems.

Several healthcare facilities already have purchased KODAK Business Diagnostics Services, including Chelsea Community Hospital (Chelsea, Mich.), Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center, (Golden, Colo.), and Park Ridge Hospital (Rochester, N.Y.).

Based on the initial analysis, healthcare providers can identify one or more areas for in-depth evaluation and recommendations. For example, directors at Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center wanted to establish a steady, efficient flow of patients and eliminate waiting for both patients and physicians. The practice has 22 physicians and operates three clinics in the Denver/Golden area.

Just three weeks after implementing Kodaks recommendations that involved a new patient scheduling template, the clinics have reduced patient wait times by 55 percent, while simultaneously increasing patient volumes by 9 percent. Physicians satisfaction also improved because they are able to stay on schedule while reducing downtime between patients.

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