When it comes to medical imaging, healthcare executives most likely initially associate the field with the terms ‘radiology’ and ‘radiologist,’ reports Health Data Management.
Perhaps, later they might think of specific imaging types, like X-ray or MRI, and then, maybe for those who were really savvy, a mention of PACS or RIS.
However, few would ever say orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiology, or clinical trials. But medical imaging has become a vital diagnostic tool and essential for almost all medical specialities.
As the nation’s healthcare system moves in a direction of interoperability across consolidated systems, redundant imaging exams across specialties become a risk to the health of patients and a source of needless costs to facilities. Not to mention that any delay in a study being available in situations like trauma transfer or telestroke can have a tremendous impact on patient outcomes.
