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.
The two demonstrations at this year’s IHE addresses today’s hot topics of patient privacy and personalized medicine, the latter of which is also RSNA 2010’s conference theme, according to Chris Carr, director of informatics at RSNA.
The first demonstration, which involves a simulation of an imaging study acquisition, highlights a new way of sharing images with the patient. The current method is burning images to a CD and turning it over to the patient.
The new network-based method employs an edge server, which connects the PACS to a clearinghouse or image repository. Through appropriate security controls with designated personal health records (PHRs), patients can access the images, add their imaging history to their PHRs and control who sees those images. “The patient owns it,” Carr said.
Four separate PHR systems are being used in the demonstration to store, display and share images. “This method significantly improves the convenience and makes the management of information easier for the patient,” he said. “It also makes the process of sharing images with other providers easier.”
Part of the problem with the current method of image sharing is that it’s a laborious process that in some cases requires retakes because providers don’t have access to prior imaging studies. The new method should reduce over-utilization and redundant studies, as well as increase privacy and security and convenience, Carr said.
RSNA is the prime contractor tasked with developing a patient-controlled, image-sharing network and part of the demonstration represents the work being done by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. With Stage 2 of the meaningful use criteria requiring patients to have comprehensive, portable health records, this demonstration is timely, he said.
The second demonstration focuses on radiation dose monitoring and its impact on patient safety and convenience. With the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard, a site or imaging center can generate structured reports on the doses that it is exposing its patients to and share them with the PACS’ local databases.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) will take part in the demonstration. Dose reports will be aggregated and analyzed by ACR’s Its National Radiology Data Registry. ACR uses data for benchmarking and can provide institutional- or individual-level performance reports. “The goal is to make radiation exposure as low as reasonably achievable,” he said.
“The results of careful, rigorous dose management programs show room for improvement,” Carr said. The demonstration will highlight the need to define protocols and procedures for generating, aggregating, managing, sharing and analyzing dose information, and develop best practices.
