Offsite Announces Rural Health Initiative Launch.

Apply for the Rural Health Initiative Now

(Kansas City, Mo., originally published February 24, 2011) – OffSite Image Management (OIM), based out of Kansas City, is launching the Rural Health Initiative, in which select rural hospitals, across the nation, will receive the technology needed to safely store, transfer, and exchange critical patient information with other healthcare providers within the respected region.

The Health Information Exchange, that OffSites Image Management provides, is the most recent, emerging solution to our healthcare process as it relates to advancements in technology and continuity of patient care. It allows hospitals and other healthcare providers to exchange health information without compromise; expedites access and data retrieval with a more efficient and effective methodology; and decreases costs associated with redundancies, lost data, scanning and mailing.

In order for continuity of care to be successful it needs to extend beyond hospital walls, its providers, and its own EMR. In order for the Rural Health Initiative to be successful, hospitals have to connect with other healthcare providers within the region and share critical data.

OffSite Image Management’s Rural Health Initiative positions rural hospitals and healthcare providers to do just that—and in order to provide them with the tools to get started; they are dedicating $500,000 in technology, software and support.

National Rural Health Association President and CEO of Ballinger Memorial Hospital, Lance Keilers, has stated that rural hospitals like his, face timing, cost and workforce barriers to implementing electronic health records.

Healthcare organizations spend thousands of dollars to integrate and interface various systems within their infrastructure. Any costs associated with exchange of data to outside organizations are not only substantially higher, but could be impossible to afford.

In today’s age of information, critical information has to be shared in order to ensure continuity of care for a patient. Through solutions provided by OffSite Image Management Inc., hospitals and healthcare providers will be able to transfer electronic images and health records to other healthcare organization within the respected region.

Only one hospital within a 150-mile radius will be selected for this project and in order to qualify, rural hospitals must meet the following minimum requirements:

a. Identified as a Critical Care Hospital
b. Perform less than 10,000 exams/year
c. Take initiative to share and exchange patient data with other healthcare organization.

Solutions provided by OffSite Image Management Inc. have been designed specifically to accept any DICOM compliant data from any organization, any PACS and modality. This data can be shared, pushed, pulled or downloaded within any participating healthcare providers’ health information systems, PACS or a workstation. Services provided by OIM inc. under this program include; real time data replication and storage, workflow continuity solution and health information exchange. To apply for the Rural Health Initiative grant, go here, or contact Lasha Dalakishvili at [email protected]/ , or contact Dave Sarowski at [email protected].