Merge Healthcare Incorporated , a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced Coosa Valley Medical Center(CVMC), an independent, community, non-profit medical center that serves five counties in Alabama, has selected Merge PACSTM to upgrade their existing PACS, iConnect® Access to provide real-time access to images and iConnect® Enterprise Archive to further expand their enterprise imaging strategy.
"As a long-time Merge client, we were excited to move forward with the latest versions of both Merge PACS and iConnect Enterprise Archive," explained Amy Price, COO, CVMC. "We not only upgraded to the latest releases of those two products, but also added iConnect Access to provide referring physicians with access to patients' images anywhere, any time. We believe this approach to an enterprise-wide imaging strategy will deliver substantial workflow efficiencies for our physicians."
"Additionally, by upgrading to Merge PACS, radiologists will now be able to access a full suite of mammography tools from one workstation," noted Andy Gill, Director of Imaging and CV Services, CVMC. "This will allow us to consolidate workstations and ultimately allow for faster diagnoses."
"With Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements focusing heavily on the viewing of diagnostic images, health systems of every size need to look at how to image-enable their enterprise," said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. "By implementing an enterprise-wide imaging strategy, CVMC will be well-positioned to address information exchange, changing payment models and future regulatory requirements as they relate to the sharing of images."
iConnect Enterprise Archive and iConnect Access are part of the iConnect® Enterprise Clinical Platform, Merge's comprehensive offering for viewing, sharing and archiving any type of image, anywhere, any time. It also includes iConnect® Share, an internet-based gateway for image sharing between enterprises. With current trends in patient safety and healthcare reform as well as competition for referring physicians, the need for image sharing across the enterprise is more critical than ever.
A recent InMedica study reported iConnect Enterprise Archive as the world's #1 market share vendor-neutral archive. As the industry's first true standalone vendor-neutral archive, it has been successfully integrated with over seventy-five PACS vendors and specialty workstations at over 350 sites across the United States. In over half of the implementations, Merge's customers have integrated third-party PACS systems with iConnect Enterprise Archive.
Merge PACS, a real-time picture archiving communication system, enhances clinical, operational and administrative functions with an approach that emphasizes workflow efficiency and customer satisfaction. Its modular design allows for easy integration with a broad range of third-party systems.
About Merge
Merge is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Merge's enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, anywhere, any time. Merge also provides health stations, clinical trials software and other health data and analytics solutions that engage consumers in their personal health. With solutions that are used by providers and consumers and include more than 20 years of innovation, Merge is helping to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare worldwide.
