December 12, 2011

SAN DIEGO – The benefits of using a cloud-based service to share medical imaging studies and reports was the focus of a podium presentation at RSNA 2011.

The talk by Mark D. Kovacs, M.D. and Michael A. Trambert, M.D. reviewed data from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (VCU), an early adopter of cloud-based medical data sharing. VCU uses eMix™, the industry-leading cloud-based medical data-sharing service.

Drs. Kovacs and Trambert described the old technical barriers to sharing patient data between healthcare providers with different, proprietary information technology systems. They also noted the problems associated with previous workaround solutions that were developed to overcome those barriers. These solutions include faxing, burning images to CDs, and sending files via virtual private networks.

The inadequacy of these older solutions prompts redundant imaging studies 10%-to-20% of the time. Such unnecessary imaging exposes patients to excess radiation and adds tens of billions of dollars to national healthcare costs.

The presenters demonstrated how cloud-based services have addressed the issue by providing data sharing that is low-cost, secure, near instantaneous, and vender-neutral.

“We found that cloud-based data sharing has essentially solved all the problems with prior methods of sharing electronic medical information – and in the simplest, most efficient way possible,” said Dr. Trambert. “Unlike CDs, when information is transferred in the cloud, you can be certain the information will arrive on time, and that the files can be opened. This also means there is no need to take redundant images. That better protects patients and is a huge benefit for the healthcare economy.”

Dr. Trambert is the Lead Radiologist for PACS Reengineering for the Cottage Health System and Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif. Dr. Kovacs is a Radiology Department resident at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Two new eMix features have recently expanded its industry-leading capabilities:

• Zero Footprint Viewer, in addition to the ability to drop images and reports directly into enterprise systems via eMix, this new feature enables the receiver of an eMix package to do a full clinical review of the images on computers or mobile devices through their platform independent browser without having to download an application.

• EMRconnect™, which allows medical facilities to auto-send medical reports electronically, in multiple file formats, to their EMR dropbox.  These reports can then be automatically harvested into the receiving EMR.

The feature-rich Zero Footprint Viewer makes it possible for physicians to clinically review imaging files on Internet-connected devices anywhere in the world, without having to move the files onto a PACS or other third-party application. The Zero Footprint Viewer is purely browser driven and functions without having to download or install an application.

With EMRconnect, eMix report recipients can designate their preferred report delivery formats, including HL7 and PDF -- any of which can be imported into a physician’s EMR inbox. The expansion of the eMix platform into the HL7 domain enables delivery of structured or encoded patient exam information into other healthcare IT systems.

“Beyond the benefits of the cloud services in general, we found that eMix, in particular, has advantages that set it apart,” said Trambert. “Most importantly, it does not require the user to acquire or install any new hardware. Also, the Zero Footprint Viewer simplifies the transaction and expedites matters for emergency cases. Plus the ability to transfer HL7 data makes it easy to send or receive a clinical report or discharge summary. Those are important distinctions from the standpoint of radiology workflow.”

eMix is a business venture incubated by DR Systems, one of the most respected names in healthcare information systems. Electronic Medical Information Exchange (eMix) is cloud-based technology developed for sharing medical imaging studies and reports between disparate healthcare facilities and physicians with the speed and simplicity of email. eMix will also facilitate the inclusion of patient images into Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and patients’ Personal Healthcare Records (PHRs).

The business-to-business capability of eMix will be followed with the launch of a patient portal for business-to-consumer data exchanges, as well as a long-term storage feature with highly flexible user-driven storage rules and options. For more information, visit www.emix.com or call 877-EMIX-MED (877-364-9633).

DR Systems is the leading independent provider of enterprise imaging and information management systems for integrated healthcare networks, hospitals, and diagnostic imaging centers. For more than 19 years, the company has helped over 600 hospitals and imaging centers lower their cost of operation by improving management of patient information, eliminating ancillary IT systems and interfaces, and increasing workflow speed, while also providing better clinical quality and patient care.
For more information, call 800-794-5955 or visit www.drsys.com.