Improving the Patient Experience

By Ricky N. Arbuckle, CRA, RT(R)(CV) 

I want to thank the AHRA Education Foundation and GE Healthcare for allowing me the opportunity to visit another director of radiology, Diane Weber, at Lake West Medical Center in Cleveland, OH through their Partners in Learning program. Diane has been in the imaging field for as long as I have, and it was very nice to reminisce over the evolution of the field and how many of the tasks we have today were done “back then.” She also made the visit very accommodating for me. Upon meeting Diane at the Lake West Medical Center I was given a tour, and Diane discussed the equipment she has at all of her facilities. She has been with the Lake Health healthcare system for many years, and as the director of radiology she has been able to standardize MR and CT across all three locations that I visited during my stay.

In addition to visiting Lake West Medical Center, I also had the chance to visit their outpatient freestanding imaging center just outside Mentor, OH (referred to as Mentor Campus) and their newest facility, Tri-Point Medical Center. The Tri-Point Medical Center has state of the art technology, including full digital imaging and a women’s center. All three locations are very patient focused with central kiosk systems from NCR to quickly and efficiently register patients and get them ready for imaging. I was very glad to see this technology in operation, and everyone I spoke with really enjoyed the quick service that they experienced with the technology. Within just a few minutes a patient can check themselves in and be ready to go, bypassing the wait for registration personnel. I hope to draw up a proposal and have some type of automated kiosk installed in my waiting area back home.

Diane and I discussed many avenues of radiology, from budgeting, to paperwork, and personnel issues. I was able to sit in on an REI for the cath lab, a discussion that particularly interested me since I manage cath lab/special procedures at my hospital. I saw many of the same issues that we have at St. Bernard Parish Hospital.

The three days I spent in Ohio were very educational for me. Being able to discuss issues with Diane and get another perspective was a great learning experience. I will bring back everything I learned and implement it at my facility. The medicine reconciliation form that they used was very nice, and I requested one to use at my facility because ours was very confusing and outdated. Diane said to give her a call any time I needed anything. I told her if she was ever in New Orleans to look me up and I would reciprocate the good times that her and her staff gave me.

I would encourage everyone to participate in the Partners in Learning program as a guest and/or a host. This is my second year as a host facility, and my first as a guest. As both a host and guest, I gained knowledge and networked outside of my normal imaging area. After my experiences and the educational information I’ve gained, I see participation in Partners in Learning program as a positive experience for anyone.

Ricky N. Arbuckle, CRA, RT(R)(CV) is the director of imaging at St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette, LA. He can be reached at ricky.arbuckle@sbph.net.