Willow Creek Now Uses Teleradiology

X-rays and ultrasounds taken at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson are routinely read by radiologists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. And no one even has to endure Interstate 40.

That’s because Women’s Center of Northwest Arkansas LLC, which does business as Willow Creek, started using teleradiology in March shortly after the facility opened off Interstate 540. The hospital spent about $100,000 just on the hardware that makes the digital technology possible, including an ALI image storage and retrieval system.

Most of Willow Creek’s diagnostic radiology and ultrasounds are now transmitted to Little Rock. University Hospital on the UAMS campus boasts six specialists in the obstetric and gynecology subspecialty of maternal fetal medicine. It means they have specialty training for high-risk obstetrics patients.

Jana Hitt, Willow Creek’s director of radiology, said the system is already saving both the hospital and patients time and money. Recurring costs for film and developing solution have been eliminated, and at-risk patients who normally would have to drive to UAMS for consultations can do them over the Internet.

“Instead of having an X-ray in their hand,” Hitt said, “the radiologists view the computer imaging. This is the wave of the future, and UAMS is certainly trying to be a forerunner in computerized radiology. They’re experimenting to see if offering services to remote sites like us will be economically sound.”

While an X-ray or ultrasound scan is going on, Willow Creek initiates a video conference with an OB/GYN specialist at UAMS. Procedure times can vary, but 15 to 20 minutes is the norm for a scan and consultation.

Dr. Curtis Lowry is director of obstetrics for University Hospital on the UAMS campus and section head of the division of maternal fetal medicine. He said the virtual consultations are as close to an in-person visit as a doctor can get without physically being in the room.

Lowry, board certified in OB/GYN and maternal fetal medicine, said once the radiology images become digital, they’re actually even easier to manipulate or magnify than film. He said the interpretation of data is the same in either case.

“Willow Creek was innovative enough to make this work with us,” Lowry said. “Drs. Scott Bailey and David Duke up there deserve credit for being forward thinking enough to pursue this partnership. This is the beginning of the new age in medicine, and this partnership is the first in the nation to use teleradiology for clinical obstetrical care.”

Lowry said because UAMS has specialists’ specialists who train most of the doctors in Arkansas, it can offer service from world-class experts in a variety of fields of medicine to patients across the region. Since it’s not practical to establish a specialty practice like UAMS’ maternal fetal medicine team in less populated areas, the technology both helps patients receive better care and adds a revenue stream to the doctors’ business.

UAMS has used teleradiology with some clinics in underserved areas before, but never for OB/GYN work. Lowry said in the future more specialists will video conference and consult patients from a distance.