USTeleradiology Continues West Coast Expansion

ATLANTA, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- USTeleradiology (UST) announces that in December 2013 they were selected to provide Radiology Services to NorthBay Healthcare, a multi-facility hospital network outside of San Francisco consisting of NorthBay Medical Center and VacaValley Hospital, as well the Solano Diagnostic Imaging Centers in Fairfield and Vacaville, California. 

NorthBay Healthcare issued an RFP and after an extensive nationwide search which included several national radiology service providers, large teleradiology companies, and large regional groups in both San Francisco and Sacramento, USTeleradiology was selected and began providing services to the hospital system in March of 2014.

Dante Tolbert, NorthBay's Assistant Vice President of Operations found that, "UST made the RFP, negotiation, and implementation process easy and enjoyable. UST's CEO, Dr. Frank Ferraro; COO, Mark Stevens; and CIO, Jerry Burns, were onsite and in communication with their office-based Operations Managers throughout the implementation, which was seamless."

UST has now completed their third month of service at NorthBay.  Volumes have increased approximately 10% from 2013 in the first three months since service inception. Onsite staffing presence has expanded to include an Interventional Radiologist who is now doing several cases per day.  UST has also supported diversity by hiring the first female radiologist at NorthBay--a female Pediatric Radiologist / Women's Imager.    According to all of the stakeholders at NorthBay Healthcare, including the Administration, the referring physicians, hospital-based physicians such as the ED doctors, and the Radiology Directors and Technologists, there is complete consensus that UST has improved the quality and delivery of radiology services at NorthBay Healthcare.

UST is pro-doctor, pro-radiologist and is completely doctor-owned and doctor-managed without outside investors.  UST is not predatory and where appropriate, UST will sign non-solicitation and non-compete agreements with its teleradiology clients. When UST was awarded the contract at NorthBay, the practice offered all of the incumbent radiologists positions within the organization.

UST is Joint Commission accredited and its family of companies focuses on the patient, quality, and partnering with the hospital and its physicians to improve the patient care experience.  This patient centric approach has resulted in the development of technology, systems and processes that allow the organization as a whole to better partner with its client facilities and referring physicians. 

UST reads over one million exams per year with approximately half read at their staffed hospitals and the other half read via teleradiology.  Currently, UST works with over 100 Board-certified, Fellowship-trained radiologists and staffs eleven hospitals on the East and West Coast.  The teleradiology service adds two hundred-plus additional facilities that include Hospitals, Imaging Centers, and a large contingent of Urgent Care Centers across the Country to UST's reach.  A testament to UST's success over the past decade is evidenced by its longevity and low turnover rate at its facility partners.  UST has re-signed all of its staffed hospital contracts in the past 6 months, some with length of service terms of 5 years or more.  Furthermore, UST has been approached by several of its client hospitals and health systems to expand into other practice areas such as ED, Hospitalist, Anesthesia, and Radiation Oncology.  UST, however, has decided to keep a laser focus on providing expert quality radiology services.

UST utilizes a proprietary technology platform that allows it to easily springboard into hospitals, urgent care centers, imaging centers and all facilities where medical images are acquired throughout the Country.  The system leverages in-house Physician Recruiting, Licensing and Credentialing services to hire a dedicated team of doctors to staff onsite and offsite via teleradiology.  The proprietary technology platform supports the organization in reducing turnaround times and improving workflow for their partner facilities.  UST provides 24/7 real time final reports directly into the hospital's EMR via HL7 Interfacing to consolidate the patient information for its subspecialty reads, which include Neuroradiology, MSK Radiology, Women's Imaging, Pediatric Radiology and Body Imaging.  This technology includes UST's wholly-owned, developed, and maintained Radiology Information System that provides complete transparency and real-time reports to referring physicians on their smart phones, tablets, or desktops. UST's RIS offers the Radiology Directors at its client facilities robust data tracking and reporting features in areas of critical importance to State Regulators and The Joint Commission that include Peer Review / Quality Assurance, Critical Results Reporting, Critical Test Reporting, Turnaround Time Reporting, Volume Analysis by Modality and Hour, and Physician Productivity Tracking.

UST's CEO, Dr. Frank Ferraro, explains that, "Being a Joint Commission Accredited entity, UST has honed its ability to provide its partners with detailed, relevant quality data. Teaming with our hospital clients, we establish performance metrics and we document our delivery. The process is transparent and our clients and practice partners have come to rely on this information. As we transition into the age of Accountable Care and Performance Based Compensation Models, the ability to measure, document, and improve patient outcomes will be key."

USTeleradiology is proud to have partnered with NorthBay to improve patient care, expedite patients through the ER, and provide referring physicians with final reports, faster.   Putting patients first, reinvesting in the radiology practices, and building strong referring physician relationships will continue to be focal points of service for UST at NorthBay Healthcare and Nationwide. 

For more information about USTeleradiology and its family of companies, please see us at AHRA Booth # 134 and at RSNA Booth # 7944 or contact any of the following executives:

CEO, Frank Ferraro, MD, 404-216-6089, [email protected] 
COO, Mark Stevens, 404-754-1635, [email protected]
EVP, Linda Johnson, 404-870-2831, [email protected] 
VP of Development, Michael Cavuoto, 404-519-9803, [email protected]

SOURCE USTeleradiology