Agfa's Top Ten Ways to Boost the Enterprise Physician Adoption Rate.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2004

Today at the 2004 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference, Agfa unveiled tips to help hospitals and healthcare facilities increase the Enterprise Physician adoption rate when incorporating Healthcare Information Technology.

Recent studies identify that to obtain the projected return on investment there is a need to improve the Physician adoption rate. In the 2003 HIMSS Patient Safety Survey, Access to Capital at 79 per cent, followed by Physician User Resistance at 45 per cent were the key obstacles to the implementation of technology to enhance the delivery of patient care by using new advances in technology. In 2003, Dominic and Irvine surveyed 2,100 hospitals using PACS and found that 19 per cent of survey participants identified the Conversion of Physicians as an issue.

"As the Point of Knowledge for analog and digital solutions, we wanted to share our key learnings with HIMSS members since we share a goal of optimizing the use of Healthcare Information Technology," says Anthony Passarello, General Manager, HealthCare Solutions at Agfa. "These Top Ten Ways to Boost the Enterprise Physician Adoption Rate improved the outcome of the move to filmless at Agfa's PACS installations and, specifically at, Adventist Health System."

Agfa's Top Ten Ways to Boost the Enterprise Physician Adoption Rate

Set the Stage: Make sure you have the Critical Technology Mass - a sufficient system architecture and infrastructure to address both Departmental and Enterprise needs. This will make the deployment easier and increases the probability that it will work effectively and efficiently once deployed.

Make a Commitment: To drive the process and increase the adoption rate, it is mandatory to have buy-in from all senior administrators. A collaborative relationship between the client and vendor can also boost the adoption rate. Choose a supplier who understands reengineering workflow and has abilities in-house so staff members are experts in the system and will have ownership of the clinical and operational outcomes.

Define Success Measurements: Research acquisition options that meet your specific needs. Select multi-vendor modality connectivity as an alternative to expensive 'tear and replace' practices. Through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Agfa, Adventist Health System obtained the Information Technologies they needed to increase productivity and improve the delivery of patient care, without a large capital investment.

Don't be a Guinea Pig: Choose a supplier with knowledge and experience in both the analog and digital environments and associated workflow. Choose a supplier with installs in a variety of environments so they have already applied their key learnings to the system across the Enterprise.

Ask for references: This is a huge investment and requires careful consideration. Agfa recommends contacting users who have installed and are using the technology. Look for users of similar size and operating environments.

Educate Users Prior to Deployment: Provide education prior to deployment to communicate how the technology can increase their productivity and promote better patient care. Training sessions should be hands-on and begin no more than 45 days prior to deployment.

Prepare for Workflow Change: Identify areas where the workflow may change and, prior to deployment, communicate how the workflow may change to give users time to prepare and make the transition easier.

Provide multiple support methods: Provide technical support via help desk, hotline and on-site resources to increase efficacy of training and to overcome initial hesitancy to adopt. Agfa has found that having technical staff doing rounds provides immediate assistance and encourages adoption of the technology during go-live week.

Monitor adoption rates: Choose a system that will track and log the adoption rate to target users who require additional training. Agfa recommends checking in two weeks post-deployment, 30 days post-deployment and, again at, 60 days post-deployment.

Make it fun: Hold contests and reward early adoptees. Use a carrot approach whenever possible. Adventist Health System published and celebrated individual success stories and found that this encouraged interaction between users and helped to boost the Physician adoption rate.

"For hospitals and healthcare facilities that want to obtain the maximum benefit from their PACS deployment with minimal capital outlay, consider Agfa's Four Point Guarantee Program and shift the majority of financial and operational risk of delivering imaging and PACS services to Agfa," says Passarello. "Hospitals and healthcare facilities that qualify for Agfa's Four Point Guarantee Program will receive a measurable reduction in imaging supply costs in a defined timeframe after implementation and guaranteed technical, operational and financial benefits."

About Agfa

The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems, intended mainly for the graphics industry, healthcare, non-destructive testing, micrographics, motion picture and photography markets. Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has 120 agents throughout the world. Together they achieved a turnover of 4,911 million Euros in 2001. Product and company information can be found on Agfa's home page on the World Wide Web at: www.agfa.com.

Anthony Passarello, General Manager, HealthCare Solutions at Agfa and Edward Majors, Executive Direction Imaging and PACS - AHS Florida Division, are available for interviews at HIMSS to discuss their unique risk-sharing agreement as part of Agfa's Four Point Guarantee Program.