An East Coast Academic Medical System, a prominent multi-hospital system serving 29 counties in central Pennsylvania, experienced significant latency issues within their medical imaging systems. These performance problems—particularly affecting DICOM image load times—were impacting diagnostic workflows, physician satisfaction, and ultimately patient care.
To address this, the system engaged Disruptive Innovations / Asbury HealthTech Partners (DI / Asbury) to conduct a comprehensive root cause analysis across their radiology and cardiology imaging environments. Over an 8-week engagement, DI / Asbury employed rigorous diagnostic methodologies, implemented performance monitoring tools, and collaborated with multiple stakeholders and vendors.
The system's radiologists and cardiologists reported persistent delays in loading medical images across various platforms, including McKesson Radiology PACS (RPACS), Cardiology PACS (CPACS), Philips IntelliPACS, and remote VPN access points. These delays had wide-reaching effects:
Compounding the problem was the absence of performance monitoring infrastructure, leaving the system without visibility to root causes and reliant on anecdotal user reports.
DI / Asbury deployed a cross-functional team of healthcare executives, IT experts, and infrastructure analysts using a Scrum-based methodology. The 8-week engagement was structured in three progressive stages:
Key findings and interventions included:
Measurable Operational and Strategic Improvements
While Phase 1 was diagnostic in nature, the engagement produced tangible improvements and a foundation for long-term transformation:
Clinical Impact
Infrastructure Readiness
Strategic Alignment
"The DI / Asbury team brought a level of precision, speed, and cross-functional collaboration that exceeded expectations. Their methodical root cause analysis gave us visibility we've never had before, and their recommendations have already begun to change the way we think about imaging performance. They worked shoulder-to-shoulder with our clinicians, IT teams, and vendor partners, always with patient care at the center of every conversation. This was a model engagement."
— CIO, East Coast Academic Medical System