Challenge

Cottage Hospital is a critical access facility in Woodsville, New Hampshire. Like many rural hospitals, Cottage had faced a shortage of radiologists, and consequently was unable to use their modalities at full capacity. The hospital, always striving to provide its patients and the community with superior healthcare services, had been forced to limit the radiology tests it offered, eliminating some tests altogether. This situation was unacceptable to the radiologists on staff, the technologists and the hospital administration as a whole. Cottage Hospital’s CEO, as well as the department head and the radiology director, began seeking ways to provide their patients and referring physician with continuous, 24/7 imaging services, improve modality utilization, add important imaging technologies to their offering, and give their community access to the best radiology interpretations available.

Solution

Cottage Hospital turned to AG Mednet, the world’s largest diagnostic imaging exchange network. AG Mednet leverages breakthrough technology to enable anytime/anywhere access to image interpretation via the secure, rapid and lossless transmission of studies to subscribers. Without having to ramp up in-house radiology staffing or partner with just one offsite practice, Cottage Hospital can count on reliable and flexible delivery of images and access to an extensive community of radiologists – a combination that ensures improved patient care and service with no capital investment required on their part.

Result

Upon joining the AG Mednet network, Cottage Hospital had immediate access to a growing number of image interpretation options. They developed a relationship with a radiology practice on the network to provide final reads 24/7, with response times that met the hospital’s needs. As the hospital’s radiology needs grow and change, Cottage Hospital, its radiology department and staff feel secure in the knowledge that their single connection to AG Mednet will give them access to the best combination of sub-specialists, response time, and performance from the network’s growing number of academic institutions, private practices and individual practitioners around the country.