Thomas Yu, CEO When it comes to teleradiology in emergency care settings, delayed reporting can have adverse effects on critical patients. Such was the case when a number of hospitals up and down the coast of Jersey were weighed down by the deadly hurricane Sandy in the year 2012, resulting in unanticipated, prolonged system downtime. In the thick of the unfortunate event, while most radiology groups couldn’t provide immediate interpretations to their respective hospitals, New Jersey-based Advanced Radiology Solutions (ARS) came to the rescue. With a robust disaster recovery plan, generators, and uninterrupted internet access, ARS’ dedicated team of radiologists ensured that the hospitals received seamless teleradiology reporting and interpretation for several days, maintaining a 100 percent uptime, until power was restored to local communities.
Success stories as such are indicative of ARS’ commitment to providing the highest quality of teleradiology services in the industry. Thomas Yu, CEO at ARS, asserts, “We are not merely an interpretation radiology company, we partner with our clinical providers to facilitate better patient outcomes and manage the utilization of imaging.” While ARS originated from humble roots as a nighthawk company providing teleradiology services to hospital partners and care facilities, the company has evolved immensely over the years to offer a full-service teleradiology solution.
ARS’ comprehensive teleradiology platform offers the full gamut from picture archiving and communication system (PACS) storage, dictation services for clients, data storage, utilization of medical images, and integration of the images into EMRs all the way to regulatory compliance, quality assurance, and technical assistance.
The company also provides sub-specialty interpretations that cover the entire spectrum of imaging needs from PET/CT, MRI, emergency readings, neural and musculoskeletal imaging, to oncology imaging. In terms of compliance, ARS assists clients in overcoming regulatory issues such as receiving insurance certification, NIST or MACRA compliance, MQSA (The Mammography Quality Standards Act) certificate, or ACR (American College of Radiology) Accreditation. By demonstrating continuous compliance with nationally recognized standards, ARS has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation. Besides, the firm also offers compelling advisory services to clients when it comes to helping clients grow their businesses in the radiology arena.
The unrivaled customer-centric approach of ARS and its relentless focus on quality patient care serve as the catalyst behind its success. After discerning what the clients’ needs are, ARS delivers them the entire continuum of imaging solutions that it brings to the table. “Our team of certified radiologists is always working behind the scene, 24/7/365—reading images for major hospitals, stand-alone emergency centers, and urgent care centers,” says Carolyn Zodl, COO of the company. Further, for the past six years, ARS has been providing its clients with Ongoing Practitioner Performance Evaluations (OPPE) to provide ‘report cards’ for its team of radiologists, tracking each radiologist’s clinical knowledge, professionalism, performance and study turnaround times. Along with providing services such as technology solutions to diagnostic centers, in partnership with KB Technical, PACS administrative services, voice recognition dictation services, site management and project management, we are proud to be providing very successful teleradiology based mammography services to meet the unique needs of our clients. “We have a very dedicated team at ARS and we strive to utilize our innovative technology solutions, our expertise in radiology workflow and our investment in state-of-the-art IT Systems to meet the needs of our clients,” mentions Carolyn. The team at ARS listens to their clients’ clinical needs and works to maximize each client’s workflow efficiencies, while providing them with timely, consistent, high quality image interpretation.
ARS is currently working with Curogram in the development of imaging referral software, allowing for improved integration between imaging centers’ PACS Systems and referring physician’s office EMR Systems. The company will continue to focus on its organic growth and invest in ingenious technologies.
