CLINTON, MD - Southern Maryland Hospital Center (SMHC) is making a technology upgrade that brings improved care and greater convenience to patients in the Southern Maryland region.  The Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS) will be used for CT, X-Ray, MRI, Ultrasound, and Nuclear Medicine images that previously were printed out on film.  Physicians and hospital employees will now have access to these critical diagnostic tools via computer in their offices and at workstations around the hospital.  “No longer will patients, employees and physicians have to wait for hard copies of these images and radiology reports to be delivered,” said Joe Martinez, Director of Radiology at SMHC.  “These images will be sent electronically to a workstation where a radiologist will review them.  The reports and images will then be available to physicians who are part of SMHC’s computer system. The time and cost savings will be tremendous.  The caregivers who need patient imaging information will get it more quickly.  The sooner they have that information, the sooner an accurate diagnosis and treatment options can be identified.  That means patients get better care.

 

“Technology advances are improving ways we provide care,” Martinez said.  “Every day, we hear about new techniques to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries.  SMHC is on the leading edge of this technology with PACS.  We will continue to identify and implement upgrades that will help us take better care of our patients.”