HIMSS 2013: Radiology’s Place in the Healthcare IT World

Radiology IT has left the radiology space and joined the hospital healthcare IT space according to Jim Knaub, editor of Radiology Today, one of the industry’s leading resources on the topic. At HIMSS ‘13, radiology can be a forgotten topic, left in the dust thanks to more prominent topics such as EMRs, IT infrastructure, etc. But there is a new phase beginning in the profession.

Radiology IT has left the radiology space and joined the hospital healthcare IT space according to Jim Knaub, editor of Radiology Today, one of the industry’s leading resources on the topic. At HIMSS ‘13, radiology can be a forgotten topic, left in the dust thanks to more prominent topics such as EMRs, IT infrastructure, etc. But there is a new phase beginning in the profession.

Knaub stated that radiologists are starting to request more information besides what is captured. They are starting to see information besides the images, such as reports and data, flowing back to the radiology departments across the IT enterprise network. The thought is that they have the medical images, but if they had better patient histories—all of the data that may exist in an EMR or EHR, for example— radiologists could better interpret medical imaging exams. While this proposition may not be on the table now, Knaub feels it is coming down the road.

Knaub went on to explain that radiology departments should be pressuring IT departments about the flow and access of information throughout the healthcare enterprise. IT needs to be more accessible across networks because there are increasingly more radiologists not onsite to read X-ray exams. If radiologists can’t walk down the hall to consult with someone, the technologies to communicate and share information remotely must be present within the enterprise.

It’s a tough problem to solve, but being able to communicate with everyone you work with will be the key to success in the space.

You can watch the complete interview with Jim Knaub below, and you can follow Radiology Today on Twitter to gain access to its insightful coverage on the radiology profession.

(image: radiology/shutterstock)