Dear PACS Insider,
Less interaction between radiologists and clinicians has been an unfortunate byproduct of the PACS era. In an effort to break down barriers to consultations, a team from Johns Hopkins Hospital developed an application that allows radiologists and clinicians to collaborate in real-time using their iPads.
Called Radiologists Engaging and Collaborating in Healthcare, or REACH, the application's user interface combines a Web-based PACS viewer, access to radiology reports, and video conferencing, according to Dr. Paras Khandheria. He presented REACH during a scientific session at the recent Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) meeting in Long Beach, CA.
Our coverage of REACH is this newsletter's Insider Exclusive, which you can access before our regular members.
Speaking of efforts to increase the visibility of radiologists, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital shared their experience with a pilot service to provide patients with consultations on their imaging results. Initial results have been well-received by both patients and referring physicians. Get the details here.
In other coverage from SIIM 2014, learn how social media can be invaluable for radiologists who want to become more visible to patients. Also, discover how analytics can give radiology a "macroscope" for medical data and how informatics will exploit big data in healthcare and research.
Other featured articles include a new Straight Talk From the PACSman column. In the latest edition, PACS consultant Michael J. Cannavo makes his case for some changes in the PACS industry.
In other news, patient portals can be a double-edged sword for radiology, according to Dr. Ella Kazerooni from the University of Michigan. Learn why by clicking here.
Is there a topic you'd like to see covered in the PACS Digital Community? As always, please feel free to drop me a line.
