Hospital guarantees faster results for radiological tests
Hillsdale Hospital entered an agreement with Premier Radiology for improved radiological services with faster result times. The group will officially start at the hospital on October 21. According to the hospital, Premier Radiology has guaranteed faster turnaround times for outpatient test results and the emergency room’s radiology orders, an increased number of radiologists available to read scans and an array of subspecialties among the team’s skillsets, including neurological and musculoskeletal.
“We have worked with Premier Radiology in the past and since their departure, our patients have felt the strain of longer wait times,” said Jeremiah J. Hodshire, Hillsdale Hospital president and chief executive officer. “At Hillsdale Hospital, we’re not going to settle for less than superior services. Now, our patients can rest assured they will receive their test results in a timely manner.”
Premier Radiology has more than triple the number of radiologists reading test results than the hospital’s former group. They aim to significantly reduce the time patients spend waiting for a diagnosis after an X-ray, MRI or other imaging exam.
“Waiting on test results can be a terrifying experience. That’s not the experience we want for our patients,” said Jamie Caldwell, clinical manager of medical imaging. “It’s important to us as a hospital that every patient receives results as quickly as possible to reduce unnecessary fears and ensure timely treatment.”
At Hillsdale Hospital’s radiology department, every test is performed by a professional team of technologists committed to the comfort and care of each patient. Services include X-ray, MRI, ultrasound and CT scans with artificial intelligence positioning technology. Hillsdale Hospital was the first public hospital in the state of Michigan to use Air™ Recon DL (deep learning) Technology on a 1.5 Tesla magnet for MRI exams. This kind of technology decreases scan time and improves image quality.
The hospital’s 3D mammography system uses a patient-assisted compression device to reduce anxiety while producing the highest-quality images with the lowest radiation exposure. For patients on a fitness journey, DEXA body composition scans let patients assess their own composition of bone, muscle and fat, revealing danger areas and providing immediate results minutes after the test. To identify heart disease, Hillsdale Hospital also offers echocardiography with a new state-of-the-art echocardiogram machine. The hospital also provides fluoroscopy, nuclear medicine and a mobile PET/CT unit on campus once per week.
“The array of radiology services we’re able to offer reflects our goal to serve this community with high-quality, specialized health care,” said Hodshire. “We want to encourage our patients that they can receive timely radiology test results as part of their care journeys, and they don’t have to leave the local area to do it.”
