Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - the mission of day kimball healthcare (DKH) is to improve the health and well-being of our community by providing the…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - the mission of day kimball healthcare (DKH) is to improve the health and well-being of our community by providing the best medical care. A new combination radiology/fluoroscopy (live X-RAY) imaging system, helps to fulfill this mission by gaining standardization of patient care. Fluoroscopy is a medical imaging procedure that uses several pulses of an X-RAY beam to show internal organs and tissues moving in real time on a computer screen. Standard X-rays are like photographs, whereas fluoroscopy is like a video. Healthcare providers use fluoroscopy for two main purposes: for diagnostic purposes and to help guide certain treatment procedures (known as interventional guidance), such as surgeries and catheter placements. The new equipment allows for consistent high quality of care, fewer retakes, and faster image interpretation times. IT allows DKH to save costs, time, enhance room availability, and promote greater satisfaction for patients, staff, physicians, and managers. Safety and compliance are the primary reasons to replace day kimball's existing unit. Currently the imaging department is not able to perform fluoroscopy procedures such as vcug (voiding cyst urethrogram, an X-RAY examination of a child's bladder and urinary tract) procedures. The current unit does not have compatible stirrup attachment; requiring a work around by using sandbags. Another benefit would be the OB-GYN providers could come to the department to perform the vcug. Services such as arthrograms (evaluation and diagnosis of joints condition) could be performed because of the physical layout of the combination fluoroscopy/radiology system. New fluoroscopy equipment has intuitive interface that benefits both the physician and technical staff for ease of use. The radiation safety officer (RSO) contracted by DKH has issued an alara 1- (as low as reasonably achievable) warning for a staff radiologic technologist who has exceeded the recommended threshold of radiation do SE. If the current fluoroscopy system is not replaced, there may be an increase in staff members receiving alara 1 warnings. A state of the art fluoroscopy imaging system makes IT easy to adhere to the ALARA1 principle. There are special applications and software to assist with keeping radiation doses as low as possible, while all anatomical details remain in clear images to make confident diagnostic decisions for all patients. The joint commission, organization that accredits more than 22,000 health care organizations in the united states, sets a standard that requires fluoroscopy equipment to display and record a patient's dose. Currently, DKH staff are recording each case; each patient's dose, time, and number of images manually. This must then be documented by the physician in the patient's scan and/or medical record. This data must also be easily retrievable (per standard). With our current system, there is a potential for patients to receive increased dose. By only recording the information by hand IT is very difficult to track and compare data to help minimize/reduce exposures. This is where dose tracking and optimization software comes into play. A new fluoroscopy system would allow the radiology to compare the day kimball doses against other comparable facilities. Manually entered doses into a patients record also makes IT very difficult or nearly impossible to track a patient's lifetime dose history. The joint commission requires that the RSO make recommendations and track improvements. The DKH radiation safety officer strongly recommends the need for the move to a more advanced piece of equipment for reasons stated above. This is a standard of care that other area connecticut hospitals have met. A new fluoroscopy system would help reduce the need for repeat exposures, saving time and improving safety. Additionally, new fluoroscopy equipment comes with a high level of cybersecurity to support and safeg