What is the purpose of the Radiology Information System? 4 Advantages of RIS

Most healthcare professionals are aware of the need to update their practices and work with a state-of-the-art Radiology Information System, or RIS, but they may not know what RIS is.

Managing the patients in a radiology practice with an antiquated, paper-based system can be incredibly tough. Owners and managers of radiology-focused firms who fail to computerize their operations risk losing both the patients and employees, as people no longer prefer putting up with inefficiencies when better options are available and accessible.

So, if the patient population is declining or one is having trouble attracting and retaining qualified employees, part of the problem could be out-of-date record-keeping practices.

Because of the productivity and ease, it delivers to the workflow, the Radiology Information System has become increasingly popular in practices across the country in recent years. RIS allows to maintain track of patient information, as well as provide better access to media, speedier paperwork, and an easier way to schedule appointments for a team.

Below are some benefits and downsides of a radiology information system that one should be aware of to aid in the decision-making process with key stakeholders.

Advantages of Radiology Information System

Here are some of the significant benefits to consider before choosing and implementing a Radiology Information System at your facility:

Improve contact with referring physicians

• It’s crucial to think about the medical experts who may need to be involved in a patient’s treatment outside of a clinic. RIS can connect to the referring doctor’s electronic health record (EHR) system, allowing for quicker access to patient information.
• As a result, referring doctors have a better experience, which raises the possibility of them recommending more patients. If all other factors remain constant, the medical practice that makes things easy for the referring doctor should expect to get more patients as a result of the RIS.

Faster payments 

• One of the main advantages of the Radiology Information System is that it may be used to check insurance before a patient visit. An electronic payment system allows for swifter payment disbursement.

Improve efficiency 

• When patient records are electronic, it is considerably easier to locate, input, and generate reports from the data. Remember how time-consuming it is to dig through paper records, especially if they are disorganized.
• Operations are not only effective with digital information but also no longer required to be manually entered into records multiple times, and the workforce is also on track to drastically cut e-mail.

Meet MACRA requirements 

• MACRA, or the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act, was passed by Congress in 2015. It involves reporting obligations that one must follow.
• One gets MACRA dashboards with RIS, which guarantees that they’re meeting MACRA reporting standards. Rest assured, payments will be disbursed on time and one will not be penalized for non-compliance.

Is RIS beneficial for practice? 

It’s hard to think of a radiology practice that wouldn’t profit from a RIS. Any stakeholder could be persuaded by the mere convenience that comes with computerized patient records. Another major selling feature is the ability to book patient visits considerably more quickly.

Another obvious benefit that is impossible to overlook is the ability to communicate patient information with referring physicians in real-time through the network. When doctors realize how much easier it is to work with a patient vs a clinic that needs to dust off the fax machine or utilize messengers to send critical paperwork when time is of the essence, one may acquire more referred patients.

Computerizing information and adding RIS to your system, running a radiology practice will become swift. Inputting patient records, scheduling appointments, accessing the most recent media, and communicating information with referring doctors will save a significant amount of time for the employees.

What’s left is to choose the best Radiology Information System application for the company and look into training to get the employees up to speed on how to use this critical software tool.

Conclusion

Trying to maintain track of patient records with an old-fashioned, paper-based system is a burden to a practice. Radiology practices that are computerized risk losing patients and workers who are aware of more efficient alternatives. Consider the benefits and drawbacks before deciding to deploy a radiological information system in a business. Ensure that the RIS software is updated regularly by the software vendor. Referring physicians will enjoy the convenience the company provides by sending patient information from the RIS via a network. Click here for more information on RIS software and how it might help your practice.

Disclaimer: The content is submitted to Drucare by Pranav Kuchimanchi