Patty Enrado

The way diagnostic imaging is practiced today has changed little in the last 100 years, according to Eliot L. Siegel, MD, professor and vice-chair of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine.

Whether you're for or against health reform, there's no escaping the major changes coming down the pipeline. In the radiology field, there are more challenges than opportunities, according to Ben Isgur, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) has come a long way since it was established more than a decade ago by RSNA and the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to improve patient care by standardizing how health systems exchange information.

Meaningful use, quality data and clinical decision support to achieve better outcomes are driving trends in the radiology information system (RIS)/picture archiving and communication system (PACS) market, according to a KLAS imaging expert.

Quality improvement has been a hot topic in the last couple of years, especially with the passage of the federal stimulus and health reform legislation.

eHealthTrust opened its first large-scale health record bank (HRB), a secure repository where consumers can store and control their health information, in Phoenix last month. "We know the demand is there," said William Yasnoff, MD, founder of eHealthTrust, noting that thus far, a modest amount of local marketing to generate visibility has drawn "good reception from a small number of folks."

Healthcare providers can never get enough advice about how to implement EHRs. Maine's regional extension center held a forum for healthcare providers last week and one physician, who has been practicing in a paperless environment for the last five years, gave excellent guidance. Take heed.

The 120 network hospitals and 30-plus physician groups participating in Blue Shield of California's (BSC) claims transparency program continue to reap shorter claims cycle times and fewer denials, resulting in significant savings.

As executive director of the Nebraska Health Information Exchange (NeHII), Deborah Bass knows what it takes to get a health information exchange (HIE) up and running successfully.

The Medical University of South Carolina's enterprise data warehouse is helping the academic medical center reduce chart abstraction time for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) measures.