CRG Newsletter April 2009

Community Referred Radiology Contract:

This contract has been running smoothly and well received by patients and our referring doctors.  The main changes during the last 12 months have been that the CDHB Dept of Surgery are now triaging all referrals for CT colonography, and diverting some to colonoscopy etc.  Also, low clinical priority gynaecological ultrasound referrals are being transferred to ChCh Women’s Hospital for further triage and management.  Please see our web site for a full discussion of this contract.

On-line Access to Images and Reports:

The majority of our referrers already have access to Inteleviewer, our electronic imaging system.  An annoying feature of this for many referrers has been that they can only view images of cases they have actually referred, unless we have been previously requested to grant special access.  

We have now commissioned a new programme, WebComrad, which allows referrers to view all patients with whom they are associated, as well as to view their reports, referral forms, scanned documents and upcoming appointments with us.  We believe that WebComrad will be ideal for most referrers, especially General Practitioners and Midwives.  

There is information about this on our web site www.crg.co.nz, under “PACS/Images” and “WebComrad”.  We have been advised not to publish the web address details of WebComrad on the web site, for security reasons.  However, once we have received your completed application form (available for download from the website), we will inform you of the address and this can be bookmarked in your browser.  If you think you will need access from many computers (eg, a midwife wishing to view fetal measurements from a client’s home), we will also send you a USB key that will readily link you to the system.

New Services:

CT-PET Scanning: We are close to finalizing plans to install PET-CT scanning into a new building at Southern Cross Hospital, with the go-live date hopefully by the end of this year.  It will be a welcome and timely enhancement to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer for the whole South Island.

3-D and 4-D Ultrasound: Real time imaging of surfaces and volumes are becoming mainstream in ultrasound imaging.  It is not just about creating cute movies of fetal faces, but a new era in ultrasound diagnosis in many conditions. St Georges Radiology has had this technology for several years, and we have now decided to upgrade or replace machines at our other branches to this level of technology. 

Fee Adjustment:

Most CRG fees are being increased in line with inflation as from 1st April.  The latest schedule is on our web site.  Please note that the Ultrasound Pregnancy surcharge remains unchanged at $50.00, and the existing waivers continue.
 
Kind regards
 
Tony Young
Managing Radiologist
Email:  tony.young@crg.co.nz. 
Phone 021 2211614