IN. Hospital Introduces Safe Guarded Scanning Machine

Jan. 31--JEFFERSONVILLE -- New equipment at Clark Memorial Hospital is improving not only clarity of test results, but also making the experience better and safer for patients, hospital representatives report.

In December, Clark Memorial became the first hospital in the area to have the Revolution EVO CT scanner, replacing the hospital's 14-year-old machine. This brought them into compliance with MITA XR-29, a provision of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which calls for machines with lower doses of radiation delivered to patients and dosage tracking while retaining or improving test results. MITA XR-29 took effect January 2016.

HOW IT IS DIFFERENT

Kim Farinas, team leader at CT/Diagnostic Imaging and Patient Care Assistance at Clark Memorial, said the new machine lowers radiation by 60 to 70 percent on average, and those administering the scans have the ability to customize dosage on certain areas of the body.

"We can turn off or reduce the radiation across your breasts," Farinas said, for example. "It scans all the way around [the body]...you can still get the correct dosage coming from the back. We turn that on for chest CTs, abdomen, pelvis area, just to reduce that."

CT scans for lungs may also be lower than the reduced 60 to 70 percent decrease with the new machine.

"Which is a big concern with a lot of patients," said Michelle Hart, practice manager for Thoracic and Vascular surgery.

"If they have had lung cancer or think they might, the whole radiation exposure is a big barrier," she said, "so to hear that decreased is a big, big plus."

LUNG SCREENINGS

This makes it more feasible for some to take advantage of the hospital's recently amped-up lung screening program. Patients may be eligible for reduced or covered screenings through insurance or medicaid if they fall under a certain set of risk factors; they can still make an appointment without a doctor's referral even if they don't. Paying out of pocket without insurance or medicaid costs $104.

Patients can call the scheduling line at 812-283-2405, ext.1 to set up an appointment for a lung cancer screening.

ENHANCED IMAGING

The new scanner is also able to read through permanent metal implants, which Thoracic and Vascular nurse practitioner Marla Beeler said is a huge improvement. She said she orders CT scans every day and many of the patients coming through the hospital have the metal implants.

"When I'm looking at the blood vessels, a lot of times I can't see what's right next to that because of that [implant,]" she said, adding that the new machine allows for greater clarity in the results.

"It calms that down so you can actually see the blood flow in the vessels and see where our problem is. Otherwise, it just would have been hidden."

BETTER PATIENT EXPERIENCE

The new machine also comes equipped with a video screen that can show simple cartoons to help entertain small children, or show videos to help explain to patients who may not speak English what to do while getting the scan.

It can also help guide patients who may have an aversion to the process: While the fMRI machine is the one that is enclosed, some people are still wary of passing through the more open CT scanner.

"Some people are really claustrophobic," Farinas said. "The tech can get them through it -- they can watch the video, see how fast it it -- the quickness of the scan itself."

She added that on average, it takes about 12 minutes from walking in the door to leaving the room for a scan. The longest actual scans are about two minutes.

The machine was purchased by Lifepoint Health, which is in partnership with Norton Healthcare and makes up the Regional Health Network of Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The group absorbed Clark Memorial into its healthcare network in August 2015.

Hospital representatives say they are excited about the new options they have with the Revolution EVO; machines typically last about eight years and they were becoming increasingly limited in what they could do on the old one.

"It's quite an investment for any hospital," said Linda Ritter, manager for Marketing and Communications at Clark Memorial.

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