Alaska hospitals go high-tech: state-of-the-art equipment and technologies providing patients with better care.

• Author: Tobenkin, David
• Position: Alaska This Month

Advances in technology are making medicine at Alaska hospitals smarter, but the pace of development appears to be one of evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, change.

State-of-the-art imaging and surgical robots are allowing surgeons and radiologists to see more and do more than ever. Increasingly targeted and less invasive surgical procedures are being fine-tuned. And procedures that could once only be performed in the Lower 48 can now be performed in Alaska, including increasingly in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

"When I look at journals and read about the new technologies, it's almost Star Trekkish," said Ed Lamb, president and chief executive officer of Anchorage-based Alaska Regional Hospital. "We're looking at whole body scanners that will be able to do imaging and reading of functions in the body. They will put you on a bed and the machinery will tell the physician almost anything about you. Eventually, that will catch up with us."

Advances in Imaging

While it will take some time for technology that advanced to be implemented in Alaska, technology trends are moving that direction, Lamb said.

"Imaging is the area where you are seeing incredible amounts of research and leaps with respect to new technology," he said. "You're finding that physicians want to provide services in less invasive ways, including cardiovascular services."

Say farewell, for one, to medical staff scurrying through the corridors to deliver large folders brimming with X-rays. Alaska Regional recently spent $1.7 million to upgrade its imaging technology to the PACS Digital Imaging System. The new system allows immediate access to diagnostic images and reports, which is expected to provide faster diagnosis, better patient care, and increased productivity via a better workflow throughout the hospital, as compared to previous film technology.

Lamb said that the hospital is also looking for ways to manipulate software and hardware, integrate technologies, and develop protocols for equipment use, to maximize use of such costly technology as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment.

"We're looking at how to integrate all information technology more efficiently, getting away from using paper, and gathering more archival information," Lamb said. "How can we develop a global network of health care information? It's an evolutionary thing. We're still working on that."

Integrating new Technologies

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