“Red Carpet Care”: How Gem City Hand Is Building Patient Trust with Portable X-ray
For many small or specialized medical practices, the X-ray process can be a major bottleneck. Outdated systems are often “labor-intensive” and a “giant headache to work with,” as Dr. Sunishka Wimalawansa of Gem City Hand describes.
The alternative? Sending patients elsewhere.
“Before we had MC2, we were sending our patients across the street to the hospital to get their X-rays, which is a significant waste of patient time,” says Dr. Wimalawansa.
This process wasn’t just inefficient; it created a fragmented patient experience, delays in care, and extra bills—frustrations for patients and providers alike. Gem City Hand, a busy hand and upper extremity clinic in Beavercreek, Ohio, knew there had to be a better way.
They found it with the OXOS MC2. The impact was immediate, revolutionizing their workflow, patient relationships, and standard of care.
“Am I Doing This Right? This is Too Easy.”
The first thing the Gem City Hand team noticed was the sheer simplicity of capturing X-rays with MC2. The days of wrestling with a “CR flat plate system that was very old and outdated” were over.
“I was like, ‘Am I doing this right? This is too easy,'” recalls Carol Evans, RN and GXMO. “It’s extremely user-friendly… It is very quick, and so there’s not a lot of downtime.”
This speed and simplicity completely removed the clinic’s biggest bottleneck. “Since we’ve implemented MC2 in our practice, the process is much simpler,” notes Dr. Wimalawansa. “It’s kind of in and out, and then the X-rays are uploaded immediately.”
Footprint That Fits
One major barrier preventing small clinics from being able to offer in-house X-rays is often space. Traditional X-ray equipment requires large, specialized, lead-lined rooms.
“We’ve gone from the Stone Age of playing films into new digital stuff,” says Dr. Michael Rymer, a Hand and Upper Extremity Surgeon at the clinic. “The unit… is so small you can fit it in a corner. It doesn’t take up a lot of space. We don’t need the lead-lined room for it.* So it really has been kind of revolutionary for the practice.”
This small footprint, combined with “ultra high definition” images and “very low radiation dosing,” allowed Gem City Hand to bring advanced diagnostics in-house, in a way they never thought possible.
From a “Separate Bill” to a “Personal Experience”
The biggest transformation, however, has been in the patient experience. By eliminating the need to send patients out, Gem City Hand has taken control of the entire care journey.
“The fact that we can take X-rays in the office… eliminates the delay in waiting on those films to come back,” explains Michelle Kennedy, the Practice Administrator. “It’s another bill for the patient if we have to send them out… This way we can all keep it in-house.”
This shift does more than save time and money.
“I think it helps establish an even better patient-physician relationship,” says Dr. Rymer. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, I’m getting my X-ray, they disappear, and then maybe the physician brings in a computer screen.’ It’s something that happens right away… it makes it more of a personal experience.”
Patients can see their own dynamic studies playback. “We also do a lot of motion films… and that’s really good for a patient too, because they can see it in live time,” Dr. Rymer adds.
The “wow” factor is undeniable. Carol Evans, RN, shares a recent patient interaction: “She’s like, ‘That’s the smallest X-ray machine I’ve ever seen.’ …And I went ‘click’ and she went, ‘Wow.'”
More Than a Device
Adopting new technology can be daunting. But the team at Gem City Hand found that OXOS provided more than just a piece of equipment; they provided a partnership.
“The customer care has been exceptional,” says Dr. Rymer. “If that was a graded thing, it would be an A-plus.”
Kennedy agrees. “The collaboration has been one of the best of my experiences… in the 30 years that I’ve been in practice management.”
For the staff on the front lines, that support is priceless. “Demi [OXOS Capability Manager] is always right there. Right there, no matter what.”
The New Standard of Care
For Gem City Hand, the OXOS system isn’t just a new X-ray machine. It’s a tool for building trust.
“Being able to do X-rays onsite just adds another step onto that red carpet care that we want to provide,” says Kennedy. “It’s taking away those frustrations and making sure that we’re removing as many of the barriers as the patients run into.”
Her main takeaway: “Trusting your provider is a significant portion of healing… [This] gives them the ability to be able to build that trust and continue encouraging that confidence. It absolutely changes the way that we can care for our patients.”
Are you ready to remove barriers, streamline your workflow, and provide “red carpet care” for your patients?
* The use of lead is encouraged, and the requirement for doing so varies by state and region. Please refer to your local regulations to verify whether a lead-lined room is required.
1. MC2 is US FDA (510(k) K252068) cleared and available in the United States. Products may not be available for sale in all regions and orders will be taken only in the regions where the product is cleared or approved by local regulatory authorities, as required. Rx only. See Instructions for Use for full device indications and a complete list of warnings, precautions, and contraindications.