TeleImaging speeds patient care through electronic transfer of X-rays, CT Scans between hospitals
COLUMBUS, Ohio – OhioHealth is now offering TeleImaging to speed treatment time for critical patients. TeleImaging is a new service that supports the electronic transfer of X-rays, CT scans and other imaging studies from regional hospitals to OhioHealth’s acute care hospitals.

At Grant Medical Center, home of the system’s Level 1 Trauma Center, this means faster treatment for trauma patients. “Getting patients to the operating room as quickly as possible is critical with trauma victims,” said Shella Farooki, M.D., radiologist and research director at Columbus Radiology, which provides Grant’s radiology services. “The imaging system can save lives by providing advance access to these patients’ images, allowing us to diagnose their condition before their arrival at Grant.”

The electronic transfer of images allows a receiving hospital’s medical team to evaluate a patient’s condition or injury and assemble an appropriate care team prior to the patient’s arrival. This ultimately reduces a patient’s time to treatment and can mean the difference between life and death for a critically injured trauma patient.

“Some injuries, such as a head injury or injury resulting in bleeding, are very time sensitive,” said Steven Santanello, D.O., vice president of Surgical and Trauma Services at Grant Medical Center. “TeleImaging makes us better informed and prepared, which allows for a more timely intervention to identify specialists and to mobilize the operating room. And when time makes a difference, faster care results in better patient outcomes.”

Fairfield Medical Center worked with Grant and Columbus Radiology to be among the first hospitals in central Ohio to adopt OhioHealth TeleImaging. The imaging system allows them to electronically transfer a patient’s images in real time to Grant’s trauma team prior to the patient’s arrival. Transferring images and pre-registering patients prior to arrival can cut the time to the operating room by up to half.

“We are seeing an ease of transfer through this collaborative program, and the patients are the ones who benefit the most,” said Robert Mervis, D.O., emergency physician at Fairfield Medical Center. “The increased collaboration with Grant and Columbus Radiology helps us provide better initial patient care. We have seen that more than 60 percent of patients who transfer to Grant haven’t needed any additional imaging scans, thereby reducing their radiation risks.”

Once installed, OhioHealth TeleImaging can work at any hospital regardless of its imaging management system. Radiologists can then view the patient’s images, consult with the referring physicians, diagnose the patient’s condition and...