DOTmed 100 Spotlight American Allied Imaging - Brea, CA

BREA, CALIFORNIA--As a mobile imaging company, American Allied Imaging is deeply immersed in the industry's high-tech world and has seen first-hand what a difference technology has made in the field of medicine. Yet they place just as high a value on "soft" skills such as communication, compassion and the comfort of the patient.


Though the company started by focusing on mobile imaging scanning and staffing, they have expanded over the years to upgrading, repairing, refurbishing, and reselling imaging equipment, as well as turnkey operations and consulting. As they built up a positive relationship with customers, they were asked to help with tackling various problems that didn't necessarily fit with their primary business. While the solution sometimes has been technical, such as changing a fuse or upgrading a computer system, at other times it has been something more fundamental: developing a customer-focused outlook.

"I really think communication and information are the technology, and it really starts at a grassroots level with the patient, not with some high-technology chip. It starts at the ground where you get your patient in the door," said CEO John Zacharczuk.

And when asked by doctors to give advice about an imaging service that is not bringing in as many patients as expected, Zacharczuk will indeed look at the door--or more specifically, the waiting room. Everything from the friendliness of the front-desk staff to smaller details such as the color of the walls and the type of pictures hanging on them can have an effect.

But he doesn't stop there. Zacharczuk believes that when it comes to anything or anyone who makes a direct impact on customer service, you can't cut corners. He has made a habit of asking: "Where's the patient?" And he has found that the question is worth it, especially with the current influx of elderly patients.

This outlook evolved earlier in his career when he worked for a company that ran a mill-like operation in which patients were simply cranked through. Zacharczuk decided that he wanted to make the experience a good one for patients. He says he would even go so far as to learn a few words in another language, just to help a patient who didn't speak English feel more comfortable.

Patients who have come into contact with Zacharczuk have noticed. Due to letters they have written in praise of him, "I've been nominated to be employee of the month in hospitals where I'm not an employee."

"I don't think the technical end of [the industry] is over. I'm sure we'll find something greater and better, " he says. But Zacharczuk feels it's time to develop the more human side of the industry as well.

More Voices