A key issue facing healthcare workers today is interoperability. According to The Harris Poll, 86% of those surveyed said interoperability is the key to getting access to the data they need to make faster diagnoses.
The survey results show that 95% percent said increased data interoperability improves patient outcomes and 96% said when they can gain easy access to critical data, they are able to save lives. The fact is, with improved interoperability, patients actually see more personalized care and more efficiency in their treatments. This is a big reason why more physicians are making interoperability a larger component of their care plans.
Electronic Health Record Challenges
Despite all the advancements provided through electronic health records, challenges do exist. For example, disparate files and folders can be difficult to view, particularly in radiology when PACS fail to communicate from one department to another.
According to a study called Electronic Health Records’ Support for “Primary Care Physicians’ Situation Awareness,” EHRs are not “rising to the challenges faced by primary care physicians because EHRs have not been designed or tailored to their specific needs.” Again, with improved interoperability, the disparate files and folders present little to no bottlenecks in providing high-quality patient care.
One example of how the gap is bridged is through vendor neutral archiving (VNA) technology. When viewing images or sharing and storing DICOM and non-DICOM data is a roadblock, VNA technology has been found to be the way around the disparate files and folders snag.
Telehealth Advantages
The pandemic and the struggles many radiologists found during the outset of social distancing guidelines called for interoperability technology such as teleradiology solutions, which involved routing the workflow in a new and improved way.
While most were somewhat familiar with telehealth solutions, those who adopted teleradiology solutions were impressed with its interoperability and have continued to utilize these tools.
Seeking Outside Assistance
Rather than adopt on-premise solutions that are costly, difficult to maintain and expensive, an interoperability workaround has included working with vendors who offer a variety of cloud-based services, including teleradiology solutions, VNA, cloud PACS and more.
At OffSite Image Management, we’ve led the way in cloud-based radiology solutions that have offered our clients interoperability advancements, from VNA to teleradiology to cloud PACS and more. For more information on how we can help you improve patient care, contact us today.
