Imaging

Enterprise imaging strategies are key priorities for healthcare leaders, but interoperability roadblocks remain a challenge, finds a new survey from lifeIMAGE and CHIME.

Medical imaging vendors are operating in a "churn" market, according to a new peer60 report, as hospitals experiment in finding which image sharing features mean the most to them.

The supercomputer will be used to mine insights from ‘previously invisible’ unstructured imaging data and combine it with other information to make personalized care decisions that also impact broader patient populations.

The work will help determine how effective Philips IntelliSite whole slide imaging can be in detecting disease, streamlining pathology workflows and lowering costs. 

Medical image exchange platform vendor lifeIMAGE has inked a 10-year deal with clinical image viewer maker Client Outlook to make Client Outlook’s visualization platform a core component of the lifeIMAGE offering. Client Outlook’s FDA Class II diagnostic and clinical imaging viewing solution eUnity will become the default viewer across all apps and services on the lifeIMAGE enterprise image exchange platform, which links to providers and patients. [Poll: What topics will define HIMSS16?] Client Outlook will be at lifeIMAGE booth 968 at HIMSS16 demonstrating eUnity on lifeIMAGE workstations. The lifeIMAGE technology is a hybrid local network sharing system with a cloud component to share studies outside of a provider network. Client Outlook is a universal viewer for video and still imaging in cardiology, radiology, oncology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, burn care, dermatology and other fields. “We wanted our customers to have assured availability to viewing technology of today backed by an organization sharing the same commitment we’ve shown to future innovation and interoperability,” said Matthew A. Michela, CEO and president of lifeIMAGE. Client Outlook and lifeIMAGE will collaborate to ensure the interoperability of image data across their services. Client Outlook will introduce a workflow that enables the fast transmission of studies and clinical information displayed on its viewer through the lifeIMAGE network, and lifeIMAGE is now the only major image exchange provider offering enterprise access to the eUnity universal viewer. “In partnership with lifeIMAGE we see the clear opportunity to significantly improve image data interoperability while improving physician workflow and clinical outcomes,” said Steve Rankin, president and CEO of Client Outlook. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

Konica Minolta is stepping in a new direction. When the imaging vendor acquired Viztek in October 2015, it sought to provide enhanced value through its healthcare IT solutions centered on digital radiography, integrated X-ray devices, point-of-care ultrasound, integrated PACS, radiology information systems and electronic health records. “We’re entering the EHR space so we want to be able to go to a group of clinics, multispecialty groups, and say, ‘Hey, we can provide RIS and PACS and do practice management and charting and billing for OB-GYN, orthopedics and others in your groups,’” said Steve Deaton, vice president of healthcare IT sales, Konica Minolta Medical Imaging. See all of our HIMSS16 previews At HIMSS16, Viztek executives will join Konica Minolta executives to showcase the Konica Minolta Exa Healthcare IT enterprise imaging platform. Calling the combined offering “a full provider-based EHR,” Deaton explained that Exa is different from competitors electronic health records systems in that it includes not only RIS and PACS in an enterprise imaging platform but also those EHR and practice management capabilities.” Exa uses a standards-based interface to import data from existing EHRs to give radiologists a more complete picture of a patient than systems that don’t integrate with an EHR, Deaton said. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] Konica Minolta said that its experience replacing imaging and radiology information systems at provider organizations will help it in its quest to expand farther into the EHR space. “What we’ve learned from the radiology space is how to become experienced in the replacement market,” Deaton said. “In radiology, every time we replace a system we are interacting with radiologists who can be some of the hardest users because they are looking at the exact same things all day long. If we can make them happy, we can make other clinicians happy.” For calendar year 2016, Deaton said, the company will target imaging providers, such as orthopedics, urgent care, cardiology, and so on. Then in 2017 it hopes to carry the platform outside of that, to non-imaging practices. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

A new module will enable users to snap pictures with smartphones and tablets and then saving them to the Carestream platform and integrating them with an EHR.

Marin General Hospital has entered a 15-year, $90 million agreement with Philips to roll out an array of technologies including clinical informatics, patient monitoring, telehealth and imaging.

Carestream says Vue Motion platform also addresses Stages 2 and 3 meaningful use because it gives patients an easy way to see their images.

Picture archiving and communication systems may be one of the most tried-and-true technologies at work in clinical settings today, but there's still big room for growth, according to the 2015 Imaging Technology Study just published by HIMSS Analytics.