PACS

In recent months, Pukka-j has been working closely with ultrasound providers to deliver an integrated pathway for prompt diagnosis and a seamless patient journey across the healthcare system.  Ultrasound provision is a service that falls within the ‘Any Qualified Provider’ (AQP)* scheme within community-based services.  It gives patients the choice about the location of a scan and reduces the time between referral and outcome, thus ensuring patients receive the correct diagnostic test in a timely manner and in the most clinically appropriate setting.

Achieving these high standards can present a challenge for providers and identifying this need, Pukka-j has developed a unique Case Management System (CMS) that helps providers deliver their services more efficiently.   The Case Management System uses the latest innovative RIS PACS technology to manage patient records, scheduling, and text message appointment reminders, allowing reporters to complete and share results with the health community, all of which assists the provider in the provision of a first class experience for the patient.    In the case of RIS, Pukka-j can assist providers in realising the full potential of medical informatics in ways that work for them.   Easy to interface into a new or existing department, it helps optimise workflow and securely manage patient information throughout the facility. 

One of the challenges Pukka-j faced was to tailor the workflow to fit with the provider’s rota of ultrasound clinic locations, many of which lacked the communications needed to run web-based services.   The Pukka-j ‘Return to Base’ model enables a Health Care Assistant (HCA) to utilise an encrypted laptop to synchronise data to and from the provider’s central RIS PACS, over a dedicated broadband running a Virtual Private Network (VPN).   From a HCA’s home, appointments and exam orders are downloaded to the laptop, which then accompanies the portable ultrasound scanner to the different clinic locations.  At the clinic, the laptop connects to the portable ultrasound scanner populating it with a worklist, allowing the acquisition of images on the scanner without the need for manual entry of patient, and order details. Once acquired, images are transferred from the scanner to the laptop and the sonographer completes the report.  At the end of each clinic session, the HCA takes the laptop home to upload images and report to the central RIS PACS system, which, in turn, downloads a worklist to the laptop, allowing orders to be accessible for the following clinic session. 

Louise Crossley, Business Development, Pukka-j comments …”Pukka-j’s product has evolved over 12 years of continual development and we pride ourselves on high levels of customer satisfaction.  From deployment support through to patient case management, our team is focused entirely on making sure providers get the support they need.  Our customisable workflows enable us to build a system that reflects individual requirements and which is also adaptable to current needs and future growth, regardless of how many diagnostic services and sites providers wish to run.”

An additional CMS module includes Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports, enabling providers to make decisions on immediate response to the demand and capacity of their services.  KPI reports fulfil providers’ contractual obligations to allow them to present their outcomes to healthcare commissioners.  The Pukka-j solution fully complies with the Information Standards Board (ISB).