Cath Lab Clinical Information System

A cath lab produces some of the densest data in a hospital. The doctor's experience depends on whether all of it can be seen in one place.

The situation

Cath lab teams needed to maintain individual health records for each patient, generate reports and clinical analysis for the patient in person, and secure reimbursement and funding for the services they provide. Each of those depends on complete, accurate records, and the records were scattered across the modalities that produced them.

What we built

A single comprehensive electronic patient record with support for multiple modalities. Cardiac images can be annotated, processed and measured directly in the application. Procedure data feeds registry reports and clinical analysis, and the whole system is available through the web, so a clinician does not have to be at a particular workstation.

The design goal was to reduce redundant data entry. A cardiologist who types the same value twice is spending clinical time on administration, and a record that depends on double entry is a record that will eventually disagree with itself.

What changed

Workflow and productivity improved. Clinical decisions were supported by a fuller picture. Regulatory requirements were met by a system that records what it needs to as a by-product of normal work, which is the only reliable way to meet them.