EHRs, big data are the future of medical imaging tech

Written by Ronny Bachrach on October 8, 2014. Posted in Digital Radiography and PACS, E.H.R., Software

Electronic health records have the potential to improve the health care landscape by enhancing patient safety and reducing medical errors. Yet, the growth of big data sparked by EHR adoption can play a pivotal role in driving personalized care.

EHR Intelligence reported that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT recently conducted a presentation wherein the agency revealed that more than half of physicians believer their EHR software was helpful when providing patient care. Radiologists and other doctors who engaged in the Meaningful Use program experienced fewer safety events and an additional 52 percent reduction in adverse drug reactions.

The ONC distributed a physician workflow survey that indicated 70 percent of responding providers found EHRs to be helpful with lab alerts and medication reminders. Another 45 percent said that certain notifications allowed them to avoid potential medication errors that could cause harm to patients.

It is essential that more doctors, including radiologists, witness and experience the benefits of EHR software. The better they understand the role of health IT, the more improvements they can make to their practices' workflows.

Big data will play a 'big' part in the future
According to AuntMinnie.com, mining big data accumulated from PACS and EHRs will help radiologists make more intelligent and logical decisions. In addition, it can lead to improved personalized care and precise recommendations for treatment strategies. Speaking at the recent New York Medical Imaging Informatics Symposium, Eliot Siegel, M.D., of the University of Maryland, outlined the advantages big data can bring to diagnostic radiology.

The imaging department serves as one of the best representations of data accumulation in health care. The volume and complexity of exam results leave the door open for in-depth analytics that can be used to improve care. However, many imaging reports are unstructured, which makes extracting information a very difficult task. The data can help determine utilization protocols for procedures or the impact of CT on patient mortality rates, Siegel explained.

These large databases of health information can be mined to yield crucial insight into improving decision-making. For example, Siegel and his colleagues developed an online tool that allows users to enter patient information, such as smoking history and age, into a search form and receive statistics on the likelihood of cancer based on records stored on the National Lung Screening Trial database. This process would allow doctors to personalize care strategies for particular patients to ensure their care is optimized.

Contact Viztek for more information.

Ronny Bachrach

Ronny Bachrach

Marketing Director at Viztek LLC
Responsible for all marketing activities including, press, advertising, trade show coordination, website management, dealer and customer communications.
Ronny Bachrach
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