Addressing the facility and workflow needs associated with new technologies is also essential for effective adoption. Decoupling the placement and excision procedures had a significant impact on how these procedures were scheduled. The radiology department developed a new concierge scheduling system that allowed patients to schedule the placement procedure at any site within the network at a time convenient for the patient and not constrained by scheduling of the excision surgery. The ability to perform reflector placement at any Northwell facility also required adapting radiology examination suites to accommodate these localization procedures. Additional examination suites were also deployed in order to ensure that the introduction of localization procedures didn’t have an adverse impact on the volume of other procedures performed within the department.

Another critical component of successfully adopting new technology is securing funding not only for the purchase of the technology itself, but also to support the requisite staff and facilities infrastructure. Northwell raised $250,000 from donors who supported the implementation of a new radar-based technology that would be made broadly accessible and had the potential to improve the patient experience and reduce costs without compromising quality of care. Northwell provided additional institutional funding based on the technology’s compelling value proposition and long-term potential to improve patient experiences, costs and operational workflows.


Hallmarks of success
The new technology evaluation and implementation process undertaken for the SCOUT system at Northwell health has yielded multiple positive outcomes. The system has achieved rapid adoption, with approximately two-thirds of localization procedures (600/900) at two pilot hospitals performed with SCOUT in the first full year of the program. Of the two hospitals that piloted this new technology, one is now 100% wire-free and the other is approaching 90% wire-free. Northwell is moving to make wire-free localization the standard of care for localization of non-palpable breast lesions across its network. Radar localization has currently been implemented at 17 facilities and expansion to at least two more is expected in the near future.

Implementation of radar localization has also resulted in increased efficiencies. The concierge scheduling system implemented to support wire-free localization procedures is now being deployed for all breast imaging services and procedures. This allows patients receiving breast imaging care to schedule procedures based on the time and location of their choosing and enables more effective use of radiology department time and resources. Uncoupling of the radiology and surgery schedules has reduced downtime for staff in both departments, eliminating unnecessary costs while also eliminating operating room delays related to localization procedures.

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