Merge Healthcare RSNA 2007 Featured Products

For US imaging businesses, Merge Healthcare will showcase a variety of solutions designed to deliver a positive return on investment in digital imaging. Many existing RIS, PACS and RIS/PACS customers have performed ROI analysis and show tangible improvements. Consider comments from some of our customers.

“Our radiologists who use this service are now 25% more productive. Although our study volume has doubled, we’ve reduced our average report turnaround time from 3 days to under an hour and reduced transcription costs by 25%.” Dr. Steven Mendelsohn, Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology Group, Lindenhurst, NY

“Because of workflow efficiencies, we decreased transcription costs by 30%, and increased our radiologists’ productivity.” Chris Keefe, CFO, Metro Imaging LLC, St. Louis, MO

“Greater efficiency and improved workload distribution have enabled us to reduce total manpower while increasing exam volume incrementally.” Dr. Ramin Abrahim, Washington Radiology Associates, Fairfax, VA

Merge Healthcare will showcase the following solutions at RSNA 2007:
Fusion RIS/PACS MX™ 4.2 - NEW!
Fusion PACS MX™ 3.0 (WIP)
Fusion RIS MX™ 3.3 - NEW!
Merge Mammo™ 7.1 (WIP)
Merge Ortho™
Merge PET/CT™
eFilm Workstation 3.0 (WIP)
eFilm RIS/PACS (WIP)

Unveiled as Merge’s newest imaging informatics solution in Spring 2007, Fusion RIS/PACS MX brings a positive ROI for imaging businesses and a uniquely optimized workspace for radiologists. Moving beyond the simple interfacing of a RIS and PACS application, this single business and clinical application delivers many unique features including:

• Exam-driven imaging workflow -- from scheduling through billing.
• Worklist management customized for each user.
• Single-source access to all patient information with ready integration into standards-based electronic medical records.
• Point-and-click access to workflow tools like relevant priors, embedded dictation and document management, interrupt sessions, instant messaging, and hanging protocols.
• Convenient, single-solution access to patient data, such as a patient insurance information or referral details.
• Concise and easy-to-navigate single patient master jacket includes information typically stored in RIS and PACS separately. 
• Business performance monitoring and management with user-friendly practice analysis tools for mining and reporting on key financial, operational and clinical data, as well as the imaging center’s operational performance.
• Advanced visualization tools including spine labeling, MPR, MIP, and triangulation
• Referring Practice Portal, which allows immediate distribution of reports and images to referring physicians. The high customization of the portal gives imaging businesses unique capabilities to differentiate themselves and provide superior service.
• Support for a distributed workflow.

Visit Fusion RIS/PACS MX™ web page

Merge Healthcare will showcase a works-in-progress of its newest Fusion PACS MX solution. Fusion PACS MX 3.0* uses leading-edge platform technology to automatically launch the right clinical application required for viewing each study. This yields new efficiencies by allowing specialty reading like mammography, orthopedics and PET/CT to proceed seamlessly within clinical workflow. For some businesses, this solution will deliver opportunity to expand into new clinical areas – efficiently and cost-effectively.

Fusion PACS MX 3.0 also brings the radiologist new features for increased efficiency and reading flexibility, including new viewing protocols which allow the user to step through different views, the ability to save annotations or measurements as part of the image for improved flexibility, and expanded keyboard mappings which allow for better workflow optimization. Together with workflow and communication tools like multiple interrupt sessions and instant messaging, as well as the power of native 64-bit processing to load tens of thousands of images simultaneously, Fusion PACS MX is truly optimized to bring radiologists a positive return on all levels.
Visit Fusion PACS MX™ web page

The Fusion RIS MX solution is a proven business workflow solution that has been continuously refined in partnership with our customers to optimize return on investment.

As an example, Fusion RIS MX 3.30*incorporates the top requests from our recent User Group Meeting. It also contains additional capabilities like improved fax service, external order ID tracking workflow and national provider number.

The success of our Fusion RIS MX solution is built on a solid structure that truly optimizes business workflow and creates opportunities for profitable growth. Key elements include:

• Enterprise-wide licensing and scaleable design that is used successfully by customers with small volume, as well as some of the largest imaging center chains in the country.
• Flexible scheduling options that allow customers to fine-tune scheduling workflow and optimize room utilization.
• Embedded modules for applications like document management and dictation, to facilitate seamless, paperless workflow.
• A local and regional security business module that helps to address HIPAA compliance with minimal business disruption.
• Practice Analysis and Crystal Reports for comprehensive business intelligence.
• Billing capabilities tied tightly to the RIS workflow. At RSNA, we will show our newest development toward fully integrated billing.

Visit Fusion RIS MX™ web page

Merge Mammo™ is a multi-modality, vendor-neutral mammography workstation application. As a works-in-progress, we will show Merge Mammo 7.1* which includes leading-edge support for 10-bit video cards. In addition, this application contains features such as support for 64-bit and Vista OS, more customization options for viewing and measurement tools, improved viewing protocols, and support for 12-bit printing. With user-intuitive tools that can help radiologists achieve a reading speed at or surpassing film reading, MergeMammo has become the solution of choice for many customers in search of a way to go digital with a positive return. In our ongoing development of one of the industry’s first mammography software applications, we’ve worked closely with customers on numerous ongoing enhancements.
Visit Merge Mammo™ web page

Merge Ortho™ is packed with automation designed to minimize mouse clicks for standard planning procedures, such as automatic hip templating, automatic image stitching and automatic reporting.  These capabilities, together with a comprehensive digital orthopaedic template library, make Merge Ortho a favorite amongst surgeons around the world.  Designed to integrate with an existing PACS solution, Merge Ortho can be used throughout orthopaedic workflow.
Visit Merge Ortho™ web page

Merge PET/CT™ is designed to overcome the clinical challenges of fusion imaging to easily accommodate the standard methods that radiologists use to read CT datasets. Following the norm found in PACS, the PET/CT Workstation shows the images by providing layouts split across dual monitors in panoramic mode. For efficient study comparison, this method of review allows simultaneous comparison of CT images, PET Corrected, PET Uncorrected, PET/CT Fused Images and MIP among others. Rigid registration between images allows simultaneous navigation through all data sets.
Visit Merge PET/CT™ web page

Just prior to RSNA, Merge will officially release eFilm Workstation 3.0*, the newest version of the widely-used desktop diagnostic imaging software available via download from www.merge.com. This new release provides two options for reading: Gold or Platinum. eFilm Workstation Gold delivers all of the reading tools needed by today’s busy clinician in an easy-to-use and economical manner. New features include spine labeling, new SQL database, enhanced media burning capabilities and new overlay tools. The Platinum version includes additional features which significantly improve each user’s unique reading workflow; including hanging protocols, key images and roaming profiles. eFilm Workstation 3.0 is also available as an upgrade for Merge Healthcare’s current Fusion PACS customers.
Visit eFilm Workstation™ web page

Merge Healthcare is delighted to debut our newest enhancement to eFilm Workstation™. eFilm RIS/PACS* adds robust workflow to eFilm visualization, which allows single site imaging businesses with lower volumes to cost-effectively move into a filmless/paperless environment.

In addition to the visualization and media tools available in eFilm Workstation, eFilm RIS/PACS users can realize an efficient start-up in digital image and information management via a comprehensive set of workflow features, ranging from scheduling to report creation. This distributed radiology data model is designed to give users access to their reports and images from any web-enabled device, whether at home, a private office or the scanning site.

Referring physicians can easily access eFilm RIS/PACS workflow via a web portal, allowing rapid report availability. eFilm RIS/PACS provides an administrator-defined security model that features various levels of user rights and privileges, limiting data availability to only users that require it.
Visit eFilm RIS/PACS web page

* This product is a Works in Progress. Merge Healthcare is not legally obligated to develop described "future" software with the features and functionality described.