Dear Healthcare IT Insider,
In the U.S., it's hard to escape the barrage of articles published in both professional and consumer media focused on "meaningful use" and the adoption of electronic medical records. In fact, the forthcoming annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the largest dedicated healthcare IT association in the world, is devoting the majority of its professional program to this subject.
AuntMinnie.com tries to identify healthcare IT topics that are applicable to imaging informatics and the specialties of radiology and radiation oncology. One subject that we monitor is patient access to images from diagnostic imaging procedures. Should patients have this access?
Well, we're about to find out. France just launched a new Internet portal for physicians to create electronic health records that patients will be able to access. Nondiagnostic JPEGs can be appended. Contributing writer John Brosky reports from France with this newsletter's Insider Exclusive, an article that you, as an Insider subscriber, receive several days in advance of our regular membership.
In other news, clinical decision-support tools and protocols are attracting a lot of interest because of their potential to educate both patients and their physicians, reduce inappropriately ordered diagnostic procedures, and, ultimately, save money. Click here to learn what's working at Virginia Mason Medical Center.
The Apple iPad is another object of interest in the endless quest for more efficient workflow. Senior editor Erik L. Ridley reports on a candid assessment of the iPad's potential in radiology, presented at last year's RSNA meeting.
Can software continue to revolutionize the workings of the radiology department? Medicalis thinks so, and editor in chief Brian Casey investigates how this clinical decision-support software pioneer is reinventing itself. You don't want to miss his in-depth coverage.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati Children's Hospital believes that well-organized people skills can make homegrown software work even better -- click here to learn how, and also be sure to scroll down for even more news in your Healthcare IT Digital Community.
