The Situation
Huntington Beach Orthopedics, located in Huntington Beach, California, seeks to provide the highest quality of care to patients with orthopedic and musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses. They specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic and sports-related injuries and disorders, with an emphasis on those involving the shoulder, knee, and elbow.
Led by two orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Timothy Gibson and Dr. David Kim, the practice prides themselves with helping patients return to a healthy and active lifestyle by offering a wide range of treatment options, including both surgical and non-surgical treatment, knowing that each individual requires a personalized evaluation and treatment plan tailored to his/her specific needs. As such, Huntington Beach Orthopedics continually integrates the latest technology and research findings in their practice of orthopedic surgery so that they can provide these services to their patients.
In 2015, Huntington Beach Orthopedics chose the Candelis system to help them move from film to digital storage and optimize their workflow process. Additionally, they wanted a system that was in line with the small budget allocated for their digital radiology transition.
Prior to the installation of their Candelis PACS, their use of film required significant manual intervention for proper maintenance and updating. This process lacked the scalability features to keep pace with the practice’s growth and workflow optimization.
In addition, the replication of all medical images and studies for remote storage, as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), became a highly labor-intensive process resulting in significant additional costs.
The Opportunity
As Huntington Beach Orthopedics sees approximately 14,000 patients per year, it wanted a reliable and efficient PACS that could eliminate the administrative entanglements and expense of film operations.
Huntington Beach Orthopedics chose Candelis’ ImageGrid Mini solution because of its ease of use, range of advanced functionality, reliability, and competitive pricing.
ImageGrid Mini yields immediate benefits to customers by lowering upfront costs while still enhancing productivity.
With ImageGrid Mini, managing and archiving studies from modalities like CR, DR, Ultrasound, MRI, CT, and PET becomes easier and less costly, allowing imaging centers and clinics, such as Huntington Beach Orthopedics, to focus on patient care. Dr. Gibson and Dr. Kim use the Candelis system to view CR images produced on-site, as well as some CT, MR imports from other facilities.
"The Candelis ImageGrid is an integral part of our image management workflow. Its embedded PACS capabilities have allowed us to avoid having to invest in more complex and costly PACS servers and hardware," says Terry Carnes, Practice Manager.
In 2022, Huntington Beach Orthopedics upgraded their Candelis server, which is now even faster than before.
The Solution
Based on the volume of patient data acquired, Huntington Beach Orthopedics chose an ImageGrid Mini system with 4TB usable DICOM storage with 3 General Radiology viewer licenses, in order to provide a robust and efficient PACS for their facility.
Huntington Beach Orthopedics also purchased ASTRA Cloud Storage for back-up of their patient studies.
While many orthopedic practices do not have digital imaging capabilities, Huntington Beach Orthopedics was committed to utilizing the advanced imaging techniques and the benefits provided by digital technologies. With the Candelis system, the facility is more efficient and current with healthcare’s advanced technologies.
"Candelis provided us advanced storage and viewing technologies that met all our goals. Our PACS will pay for itself in a short time with the savings realized over film-based operations," added Carnes.
The Results
The partnership with Candelis provided Huntington Beach Orthopedics with a PACS that is both technically and financially scalable.
Moreover, Candelis ImageGrid Mini’s robust features and worklist functionality offers an easy solution to support their facility.
"Both of our orthopedic surgeons and the staff are really happy and pleased with the Candelis service," said Carnes.
"Candelis is an advanced system that delivers broad functionality and highly effective communications tools so we can really focus on patient care - and all this without paying a high price," added Carnes.
