Southeastern Overread Services Deploys eRAD PACS With M*Modal Speech Recognition

GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 18, 2013 -- Southeastern Overread Services, an established teleradiology group based in Greensboro, NC, has successfully implemented eRAD PACS with integrated Speech Recognition to support its nationwide interpretation services.

eRAD--a subsidiary of RadNet, Inc. (Nasdaq:RDNT), a leading provider of standards-based, web-centric, radiology image and data management solutions--enabled Southeastern Overread Services (SOS) to work from one streamlined reading and reporting platform, while transforming its workflow with an innovative speech recognition engine. SOS is also using eRAD technology to image-enable its clients' Electronic Health Records (EHR), extending the level of service it provides to its customer base.

"We chose eRAD because it was the only system that offered a true unified worklist," said Brian Huff, IT Director at SOS. "We were manually touching every study we received, in order to force consistency across disparate modalities, locations and systems before reading. eRAD automated almost everything, consolidating it into a single workflow. With that structure in place, our internal users can focus on clinical priorities."

eRAD's single platform delivered further advantages to SOS. "We can present our worklist to all of our client locations and allow them to do the quality control and study verification process themselves," Huff said. "We're also able to help our clients with their Meaningful Use certification." One menu set measure in Stage 2 of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) EHR incentive program requires that providers be able to view digital images directly from a certified EHR system.

"We can put images right into the patient charts of our client EHR systems, and we achieve that through the eRAD API. It's the extensibility of the platform that really drew us to eRAD," Huff said.

That extensibility includes integrated speech recognition, enabling SOS to read and report from a single system. "High-quality speech recognition was a core requirement for us," said Huff. "Within 24 hours of implementing the eRAD solution, our report turnaround time was cut in half, at least. All of our doctors were self-signing by the end of the first day. We were getting STAT reads back to our clients in 20 or

30 minutes. Some even called us to ask what had changed, so that was very good immediate feedback for us."

eRAD's Speech Recognition module uses the industry-leading M*Modal engine, which turns natural, conversational speech into structured, clinically encoded, searchable and shareable reports. This enables SOS radiologists to self-edit, saving the cost of transcription services and the time spent on back-and-forth iterations.

"The adoption rate was 100% across all radiologists from day one," Huff said. "Plus, with the web-based eRAD system, our radiologists can read from anywhere. From an IT perspective, all I have to do is provide them with a web link and a couple of downloads, and they're up and running.

Avoiding a complicated infrastructure also allows us to bring on more readers."

eRAD delivered clinical and business advantages to SOS--streamlining the workflow while expanding its service offering to its clients and their patients.

"From a business standpoint, eRAD solutions decrease the complexity of our business model while maximizing our profit potential," said Huff. "From a clinical standpoint, it allows the radiologist to take more control, to concentrate more on each individual study, on quality."

That understanding of both business and clinical issues was a key factor in SOS' decision to implement eRAD. "It was a matter of finding not only the right product, but the right company to work with," Huff said. "eRAD has been backing me from an IT perspective every step of the way. But their team is versatile enough to turn right around and talk to the radiologists directly on a clinical level. They're really top-notch."

About Southeastern Overread Services

Southeastern Overread Services (SOS), based in Greensboro, NC, provides quality radiographic interpretation and peer review services throughout the US, as well as transcription services and all Information Technology services needed to implement reading services for its clients. Its board-certified radiologists specialize in CT, MRI, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, CR and plain film, neuroradiology, mammography, ENT, and musculoskeletal imaging. Many have multiple state licenses, and SoS provides reading services for a wide range of medical facilities and practices.

For more information, visit www.sosrad.com

About eRAD, Inc.

eRAD offers a complete suite of workflow solutions for the imaging industry. Its Meaningful Use-ready RIS, web-based PACS, and multi-site workflow solutions are used by teleradiology businesses, specialty reading groups, multi-site reading groups, hospitals and outpatient imaging centers. With over 300 customers in the US and several other countries, eRAD's solutions are available as cloud-based hosted solutions, or as in-house enterprise solutions. For more information, visit erad.com