Mercy Radiology Changing the face of healthcare

Mercy Radiology

Have you ever thought that getting the medical help you need should be easier?

Anyone who has been bounced from specialist to specialist would agree and at Mercy Radiology, Auckland’s imaging experts are agreeing too, leading the charge to make healthcare work for patients as well as practitioners. CEO Dr Lloyd McCann explains: ‘‘We’re trying to shift our mindset from ‘what’s the matter with you’ to ‘what matters to you’.’’ ‘‘We’ve talked about being patient-centric for decades, but still expect people to take time off work for appointments, find someone to look after their kids, etc... often it’s at the provider’s convenience rather than the patient’s.’’

In one initiative to flip the switch and focus on the customer, Mercy Radiology have teamed up with ProCare and ACC to create a new model where trained GPs can now refer patients for an MRI scan Directly. This cuts out on average 16 ‘wait’ days for the patient in a standard pathway where an MRI scan is needed. GPs now also have the right information to refer patients to the appropriate specialist in a much shorter time saving everyone on the system time and money. Dr Lloyd says that results from the initiative between ACC, ProCare and Mercy Radiology have shown that around ‘‘30 years of wait so far has been removed from the system’’. Alongside this, Mercy have created a series of ‘one-stop-shop’ clinics where patients with neck lumps, suspected kidney stones, blood in the urine or facial fractures can see all the necessary specialists, have all investigations in one single appointment and walk out with a diagnosis in 45 minutes a huge improvement from 6-10 weeks on the traditional pathway!

Access to MRI scan now in Silverdale and Far north is also important to the team. Having recently installed a new MRI machine in its Silverdale clinic, Mercy Radiology can now offer full imaging services to residents between Albany and Whangarei an area which has long been without MRI. ‘‘We believe patients are now equipped to be consumers of health care so we’re working hard to meet their needs,’’ Dr Lloyd says. Operating across Auckland, Mercy Radiology’s Silverdale practice is at Silverdale Medical Centre, 7Polarity Rise, with MRI s Find out more!