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InteroperabilityLearn how an image-empowered enterprise fuels collaboration, enables cost savings and helps healthcare delivery organizations meet business and patient care goals.

EXECUTIVE BRIEF

This 3 Part Executive Brief explores key reasons image-empowering the enterprise has become one of the most significant “frontiers” to address in the healthcare eco-system.Image Sharing, IT system interoperability, and Data Analytics are three critical business enablers that healthcare C-Suites are discussing. Yes, business enablers that have a direct and measurable impact on a healthcare delivery organization’s revenue, reimbursements, care efficiency and quality, and patient satisfaction.

Beyond the CIO’s office, the CEO, CFO, CTO and even the CDO (Chief Data Officer) are evaluating strategies to strengthen their data foundation including image-empowering the enterprise. According to HIT analyst Frost & Sullivan, healthcare providers are shifting spend significantly with an increased focus on monitoring, diagnosis and prevention and a decrease on treatment.1

This shift means that providers are closely examining IT system interoperability, patient-centric care collaboration, and enterprise-wide patient data sharing. These foundational data elements are pivotal to achieving operational goals, clinical goals, and patient-engagement goals. Image-enabling the enterprise also unlocks critical analytical benefits for providers. Imaging analytics are important tools aimed at improving clinical quality, patient experience, and value.

Vendor-Agnostic Solutions in Demand

“More than 50 percent of healthcare providers do not have a healthcare IT roadmap, although they acknowledge the role of digital health in enhancing healthcare efficiency,” notes Shruthi Parakkal of healthcare analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.2 Interoperability standards like HL7, XDS, and DICOM provide the guidelines for interoperability. But without a clear HIT roadmap, most providers can’t optimally utilize these standards to connect disparate systems, a significant consideration when updating legacy systems, deploying new IT systems (EMRs) or growing through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Before government mandates drove deployment of electronic health records (EHR) systems, healthcare IT was departmentally siloed. Legacy solution providers have attempted to re-tool department-specific systems and create enterprise-wide options resulting in frustration, delays, and escalating migration costs. Analysts now recommend that healthcare providers focus on workflow and engage vendors who offer “vendor-agnostic” solutions3 for enterprise-wide sharing, collaboration, and integration.4

Reason #2: (Lack of) Interoperability across HIT Systems

Healthcare consolidation is on the rise with increased merger and acquisition activity every year since 2008.5 From 1998 to 2013, more than 2,500 hospitals in the U.S. were involved in M&A

3 WAYS IMAGING PLATFORMS “EMPOWER” YOUR ENTERPRISE

Image Sharing

Interoperability

Analytics & Meaning

1

2

3

2

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activity, an average of 160 annually, impacting approximately 128 million patient records each year.6 Connecting, consolidating, and managing those records is a significant challenge for providers.

Healthcare consolidation demands interoperability.Care coordination requires interoperability for seamless access and sharing of information across HIT vendor solutions. According to Gartner, interoperability remains one of the biggest hurdles to the efficient and effective sharing of healthcare information.7 With patient image sharing top-of-mind, interoperability is required to enable the technical foundation for a healthcare delivery organization’s (HDO) care delivery plan. HDOs may acknowledge the role of integrated digital patient records in enhancing care efficiency and effectiveness, but most providers struggle to connect siloed systems.

Many providers are forced to use valuable clinical resources to manually reconcile, link and route patient studies for diagnostic evaluation. Patient care cycles involving multiple care locations, departments and timeframes require clinical collaboration that legacy systems were never designed to support.

How image-enabling your enterprise can help.

Beyond proprietary legacy systems like PACS and RIS, advanced enterprise imaging solutions are feature-rich, standards-based platforms designed to provide a layer of integration and interoperability across HIT systems. These platforms address PACS-to-PACS migration headaches (and limitations) and provide speed and accuracy in accessing, evaluating, reconciling, storing and sharing a complete patient care record.

For clinicians and patients, enterprise imaging platforms support a comprehensive patient record by enabling access to imaging. Advanced VNA technology combined with communication and workflow functionality rapidly image-enable EMRs, populate patient portals and provide consistent and universal access to patient data for physicians. Vendor-agnostic platforms seamlessly connect disparate systems and offer a data management roadmap to providers.

Analysts forecast a light at the end of the interoperability tunnel. They predict that vendor-agnostic enterprise imaging platforms will be deployed by fully half of all HDOs by 2018. These enterprise ready platforms will universally connect patient information from modalities, EMRs, physician and patient portals, legacy PACS and HIEs addressing interoperability challenges.

Where do you begin?

Whether you need to image-enable your enterprise or you need to address the integration of merged HIT systems, finding an enterprise imaging solution is paramount. A great first step on the road to Enterprise Image Empowerment is to talk with those who have traveled before you. There are many healthcare IT leaders (not just vendors) you can talk with who have gone before you and know which paths to take and which to avoid. CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, and IT leaders from IDNs, imaging centers, regional hospitals, and clinics are ready and willing to share their experiences.

Image empowering your enterprise with an Enterprise Imaging Platform will directly impact image sharing, IT system interoperability, and data analytics. The future of imaging management is bright. Advanced enterprise imaging solutions being deployed in IDNs, regional hospitals, and imaging centers today are making a meaningful impact on patient care and patient outcomes. Enterprise Imaging Platforms give healthcare leaders visibility, intelligence and decision support to put their healthcare organizations in control of the complete patient care record. They enable optimized workflow enhancements, significantly improved throughputs, and the flexibility to plug and play best of breed visualization solutions – all delivering image data where and when needed.

The story continues…If you enjoyed reading “Part 2” of 3 Ways Imaging Platforms “EmPower” Your Enterprise, visit the resources section of our website to read:

3 Ways Imaging Platforms “EmPower” Your Enterprise#1: Image Sharing

3 Ways Imaging Platforms “EmPower” Your Enterprise#3: Analytics and Meaning

1 Frost & Sullivan, “Interoperability among Connected Medical Devices Can Potentially Transform Healthcare”, Zanchi, May 22, 2015. http://images.discover.frost.com/Web/FrostSullivan/EU_PR_AZanchi_9AB9_22May15.pdf2 Healthcare IT News, “Providers in dire need of connectivity”, Monegain, May 29, 2015. 3 Vendor-agnostic solutions include vendor-neutral image archives also known as VNAs.4 Health IT Interoperability, “Health Interoperability to Face Numerous Challenges”, Kyle Murphy, PhD, May 26, 2015. 5 American Hospital Association. Announced Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions, 1998-2013.6 Ibid.7 Gartner Research, “Interoperability Must Be the Foundation of a Healthcare Megasuite Vendor”, September, 2014