Totally Digital.With a Favorable ROI

The Story of The Women's Center for Radiology

Early in 2005, The Women's Center for Radiology, in Orlando, Florida, shut down their screen-film mammography systems and switched over to an entirely digital screening environment.

They replaced their six analog systems with four SeleniaT digital mammography systems from Hologic. "We had been a beta site for another manufacturer," says founder and medical director Dr. Susan Curry, "we knew that digital was the way we needed to go, and Hologic was far and away the superior technology."

Affording the Best

Of course, in any transition to a new technology, benefits need to be weighed against projected costs. Initial startup costs for a digital system can be steep, especially when compared to analog. Dr. Curry says, "We always want to provide the best studies possible for our patients, and digital would give that to us. But could we afford it?"

The Women's Center, unsure of the impact digital would have on the practice, decided to make the transition gradually, with the installation of one Selenia system at their main location in 2004. They wanted to work with the new system for a while before making a decision to move forward with the purchase of additional systems.

It didn't take long, however, to realize the potential that digital imagery held for the Center. "Once we worked with it," says Administrative Director Vicki Belmont, "we knew we had to get the other systems right away. Two and a half months later, two additional Selenia units were installed, one at our main site and one at a satellite office, with a fourth system planned at the main office."

Making Money With Digital

The Women's Center was so excited to have the other Selenia systems up and running since it had become apparent to them, practically from the beginning, that going digital was going to have a significant impact on the practice.

The Center discovered that despite their concerns regarding the initial startup costs, two factors combined to make the digital upgrades very attractive: lower recall rates and higher reimbursements.

"Our recall rate has dropped fifty percent," says Dr. Curry. For a center that normally performs over 50,000 studies annually, that reduction represents a sizable improvement in workflow.

"Before digital we had eight technologists imaging 50,000 patients per year on six analog machines and 10% of those were recalls," Belmont says. "Now we have four Selenia digital mammography systems and can do 50,000 studies with two fewer technologists and, with a reduced recall rate. We are able to see more new patients and provide mammography service to more women. And because the insurance companies reimburse more for a complete mammogram than for recall studies, there is a net gain in reimbursement and less anxiety for the patient."