Medical Diagnostic Imaging Improvements With OffSite Solutions
Healthcare providers are constantly looking to master levels of care. Radiology professionals, for example, have traditionally looked to diagnostic imaging accuracy and technical efficacy as important areas. However, some believe there should be a heightened focus on treatment efficacy and patient outcomes as well as the traditional areas of focus. How can improvements in medical diagnostic imaging play out without wrecking the budget?
One way is for radiologists to lead the charge and conduct the necessary research that brings imaging into the fold when it comes to tracking better patient outcomes. One area that has witnessed just this is in women’s imaging. Another is in BI-RADS, which includes formulating a lexicon that can translate codes into something radiologists can work with and understand.
This lexicon is difficult because most radiologists operate under different terminology. This makes patient outcome communication particularly difficult, especially considering radiologists often don’t have the time required to thoroughly read electronic medical records and find out if a follow-up is clinically indicated.
While there is work to be done on establishing improvements in patient satisfaction, a good place to begin is by making sure that the departments within a healthcare organization are gaining access to the medical diagnostic imaging they need to assist patients in their healthcare goals. Thanks to the tools provided by offsite imaging vendors, especially those using cloud-based solutions, the challenge of sharing images is finally being addressed.
Radiologists shouldn’t be burdened with technical issues when it comes to looking at or transmitting their exams, but they often are due to proprietary issues, connectivity problems, and old technologies that are long outdated and troublesome. DICOM and non-DICOM images and information needs to be dealt with in a fast and efficient manner, and that’s exactly what happens with cloud-based technologies that pair PACS with vendor neutral archiving (VNA).
When posing the question – who is driving medical diagnostic imaging and patient satisfaction, the answer is often both parties. Patients are increasingly becoming more involved in their healthcare maintenance, and they’re doing it through electronic medical records they access through patient portals. Radiologists, when paired with the right technology, are better able to provide their reports to image studies, especially when they can access every image they need through the cloud.
Unfortunately, many rural providers are often limited, both in terms of budget and personnel, in gaining access to the best PACS. However, thanks to the technologies involved in cloud-based diagnostic solutions, these cash-strapped facilities are gaining access to some of the best solutions available. Furthermore, they’re saving money at the same time because they’re only paying for the space they need to archive their images. They are also not tied down to expensive management fees associated with migrating data from one place to another.
OffSite Image Management, Inc. is doing its part in helping to improve patient satisfaction and patient outcomes by delivering quality cloud-based solutions that can handle DICOM and HL7 data. Contact us today and find out why we are a 360-degree solution.