Customer Experiences
Meridian
Regional Imaging : Village
of Vernon Hills : Dougal,
McClellan & Sullivan Eye Associates
Five Star Distributors : Benham,
Ichen & Knox
Meridian Regional Imaging
Mundelein, Illinois
The Challenge
Meridian's founder and Chief Operating Officer Stan Driscoll had a dream. He
wanted to deliver Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans directly to radiologists,
rather than have the radiologists travel to various locations to read and
interpret test results. He also needed to be able to process patients efficiently,
from scheduling through billing.
The Solution
The experts at ABN/ABG listened carefully to Stan describe his goals. Then,
using their expertise and a carefully selected combination of state-of-the-art
technology, they created an infrastructure that made his business model a
reality. "ABN was able to allow us to rapidly transmit images from one
location to another in a very cost-effective manner," Stan said.
Today, Meridian electronically delivers MRIs from imaging centers
to radiologists' offices, over a broad geographic area ranging across
central and northern Illinois. The radiologists interpret the findings
and dictate their report. Next, the report is delivered to the transcriptionist
and converted to written form, then returned to the doctors for approval.
In addition, the results can be delivered to the referring physician.
The target turnaround time in total for these steps is 2 hours - compared
to an industry standard measured in days.
"Here's our competitive advantage," noted Stan, pointing
out that Meridian's doctors can average 50-80 cases per day versus
16 for the doctors who travel to centers to interpret results. The
network also enables Meridian to provide higher quality interpretation
as well as faster results, because centers have the ability to send
images to the appropriate specialist, either a neuroradiologist or
musculoskeletal radiologist. And the radiologists' homes are linked
via ABG's network to their offices so that interpretation is available
for emergency situations 24 hours a day.
As Meridian's business continues to expand, the network easily grows
with it. It was designed with centralized hardware so that new connections
could be added for minimal cost, and each new leg is custom-tailored
for the amount of traffic expected. Security is also a top priority,
and the network is in full compliance with HIPAA, the Health Information
Private Accounting Act.
Meridian's quick-turnaround time, highly qualified doctors, and financial
and technical efficiency is a dream come true for Stan. "I hope
to keep expanding," he said. "With this infrastructure, we
don't have geographic boundaries - our possibilities are limitless."
"I relayed a dream to ABN. ABN actualized
that dream. They were able to allow us to rapidly transmit images
from one location to another in a very cost-effective manner. It's
efficient financially and technically."
Stan Driscoll, Chief Operating Officer
Meridian Regional Imaging |
