If you’ve been putting off involvement in a health image exchange (HIE), consider a recent study that shows how using an HIE can drastically cut back on the number of imaging tests that have be redone.
Obviously, imaging tests are expensive. Unfortunately, due to constraints in how images are shared, patients often are burdened with having to retake tests shortly after the first one was performed. Healthcare professionals saddled with proprietary imaging equipment cannot gain access to all the images they require, especially if they are coming from an outside source, although the problem can be present from one department to another.
According to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Managed Care, previous studies put the rate of repeat tests somewhere between nine and 40 percent. That means as many as four out of every 10 tests have to be repeated simply because the access to images is blocked.
Looking at the Rochester Regional Health Information Organization as a model, researchers found that the health image exchange collecting patient data was successfully collecting from multiple providers and insurers throughout the western part of New York. Within a 90-day period, according to the study, repeat tests were reduced by 25 percent. It’s clear that the HIE gives providers the access they need to offer better patient care.
The problem with repeat tests isn’t only related to cost. While cost does have a major impact, what also is concerning is the delay in the time these repeat tests play into how a patient is treated. Faster, more reliable access to images gives physicians the information they need to make a diagnosis and offer a course of treatment, which is especially important in time-sensitive conditions that can lead to more advanced stages of illness when treatment is delayed.
“Our research shows that timely sharing of patients’ medical records may result in fewer repeated imaging tests,” said one of the researchers in the study. “Instant access to this information gives providers a better, more complete picture of a patients’ health status.”
While it’s clear that a health image exchange has advantages, not all of them are providers that offer a DICOM exchange of radiological data across various vendor platforms. It’s the non-proprietary approach to radiological image exchange that the best results are realized. The most efficient patient care can be offered when all data objects are exchanged and treated as DICOM objects. It’s through this DICOM exchange in which challenges are inherent with most picture archiving communication systems (PACS) that the roadblocks can be cleared.
When a healthcare organization chooses wisely, they take on a DICOM format that ensures all objects will conform to the same platform, which means every entity is playing by the same rules and all objects will be viewable.
OffSite Image Management, Inc., is an organization that knows the importance of a DICOM exchange and has already set up health image exchanges in four states and counting. Contact us today for more information.