How You Can Improve Image Sharing
For those of you in the field of radiology, it will come as no surprise that your branch has the more need for image sharing solutions than any other in healthcare. A report by data software company peer60 reveals that 96 percent of those surveyed said radiology ranked highest for need of image sharing, followed by orthopedics, trauma, oncology and cardiology.
The report also finds a growing need for improved methods whereby images can be exchanged across departments and facilities, and that this capability to share has become a critical component for the most effective medical practices.
The most popular method through which images can be shared is in cloud-based technologies. Facilities, especially those with limited budgets, are clamoring to cloud-based solutions due to the efficiencies, both in practice and in cost, that the cloud can offer.
Performance is just as important as cost, and that’s another reason more providers are going with the cloud for their image sharing needs. For instance, they want to reduce the number of repeat examinations, which is what is provided through the cloud as fewer studies are lost. Repeat exposure to radiation is both unhealthy for patients and drives up healthcare costs, which is another reason they are doing everything they can to reduce the number of repeat exams.
The report from peer60 shows that 88 percent of providers feel that receiving images from other sites was the most important aspect of image sharing. While sending images for second opinions was least important to the 500 healthcare participants in the survey, it does matter, especially to the largest facilities that perform one million or more image studies per year.
As for the technology preferred in sharing images, PACS vendors and cloud networks rank highest. VNA vendors come in third while stand-alone image sharing vendors are fourth. There has been a great amount of discussion about VNA technology, which is helping to unlock the potential that so many providers have been lacking. Finally, and surprisingly, CDs continue to be shared by many providers.
Image sharing via CD burning technology is now an antiquated method, especially considering the advantages you can gain through the cloud-based technologies available to you. If you’re still burning medical images to CDs, you’re familiar with the mishaps that occur in the burning process, which are often not discovered until a patient takes the CD to their physician where it is unreadable, requiring another exam or another trip by the patient back to the radiologist. Cloud-based solutions take this out of the equation and offer instead a more sustainable, workable solution.
At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we’ve established a cloud-based solution that allows our clients to store as many images as they need and have access to them that is uninterrupted. Furthermore, our solution allows clients to share their images through a secure URL, which completely wipes out the need for a CD burning station. Get more insights into our solutions by contacting us today.