By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    How Platform As A Service (Paas) Tool Can Be Used To Develop Software For Healthcare Service?
    December 11, 2023
    Managing Your Health After a Worksite Accident
    December 10, 2023
    Biohazard Cleanup: The Importance of Proper Disposal and Containment
    December 2, 2023
    Medicare Helps Seniors, and People with Disabilities & ESRD
    November 27, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Medical Devices Help Reduce the Cost of Healthcare?
    December 30, 2020
    benefits of health insurance
    Health Insurance Schemes: Find the Right One for Your Family by Doing This
    July 27, 2021
    Does Integrative Medicine Have A Place In Conventional Care?
    Integrative Medicine: All you need to know about this
    July 17, 2021
    Latest News
    Child Protection Laws Safeguard Children from Abuse and Neglect
    December 11, 2023
    Exploring the Crucial Role of a CNA in Healthcare
    December 11, 2023
    The Role Of Second Opinions In Medical Errors
    December 10, 2023
    Urgent Care in Downers Grove: Meeting Community Health Care Needs
    December 10, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: X-rays and Mom — Case Study into the State of Imaging Technology
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Devices > X-rays and Mom — Case Study into the State of Imaging Technology
Medical Devices

X-rays and Mom — Case Study into the State of Imaging Technology

erica.carnevale
Last updated: 2016/01/08 at 2:34 PM
erica.carnevale
Share
7 Min Read
ImagingTechnologyNews December-2015 X-ray_Fractured_fibula_with_permission_of_patient_MF
SHARE

Reposted from Imaging Technology News (ITN) with permission.

Reposted from Imaging Technology News (ITN) with permission.

While I write a lot about medical imaging technology and how new technology can and should work, it is not often that I get to experience how things actually work in the real world. This past Thanksgiving I received a call from a paramedic explaining that my mom had fractured her leg and I should stop working on the turkey and fixings and rush to the emergency department (ED) at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill. She had been walking her dog on wet grass and leaves in a park when her dog took off after another dog and pulled her down. She was whipped around and the change in weight caused her to dislocate her ankle (the bottom of her shoe was facing her when she looked at her feet) and caused a spiral fracture to her fibula.

ImagingTechnologyNews December-2015 X-ray_Fractured_fibula_with_permission_of_patient_MF

A bedside screen shot of a Carestream DRX mobile X-ray in the ED of the fractured fibula.

When I got there my mom was already heavily sedated due to the pain and because the ED staff had already put her ankle back in place. The ED doctor ordered a digital radiograph (DR) of her leg to see the extent of damage. They wheeled in a new Carestream DRX mobile X-ray system and I had a live demonstration of how fast these types of systems can snap the pictures. It called up the images immediately on the machine’s screen. The image of the Pott’s fracture with fragments was really interesting as someone who covers radiology, but I also realized from a non-clinical standpoint she was really messed up and in pain. Additionally, she would need reconstructive surgery to put her Humpty Dumpty leg back together again. She was way up the creek without a paddle with it being Thanksgiving and there were no orthopedic surgeons in staff due to the holiday. The day after Thanksgiving was not much better, as we found, since most physicians were out through the following Monday. So the ER splinted the leg, wrapped it in ace bandages and sent her home with heavy pain killers.

Compounding her mobility issues was the fact that she has bilateral knee replacements. Due to the trauma, broken bone and knowing she had these implants that further limited her ability to move around, she was prescribed a prophylactic anticoagulant.

Knowing we would need the images for a surgeon to review, I had the ED burn a CD. However, I was happy to find

ITN NEWS Orthopedic_Surgery_repair_of_Broken_fibula_with_permission_of_patient_MF_0

The post-surgical X-ray showing the bone repair, which was accessed and copied by the patient using a patient portal.

Edward is among the growing number of hospitals to grant patients access to their health records via a DR Systems Internet image/results distribution system. This technology pulls images and reports from the hospitals’ Epic EMR (electronic medical record) system and makes them available for remote viewing by clinicians outside of the hospital’s picture archiving and communication system (PACS). She also was given login instructions at discharge for a patient portal so she could access her records and images herself on a home computer or smartphone.

We managed to find one orthopedic surgeon in their office on the Friday after Thanksgiving. They thought it was great that we had a CD, but before attempting to open it, they asked which hospital she had been at. Edward was already in a health information exchange, so outlying offices such as this one from a different medical group could access her records remotely in less than a minute. They were able to call up her images and see what meds she was prescribed, which made the office visit go much faster.

She had surgery on Dec. 1, the Tuesday of RSNA 2015. The orthopedic surgeon practiced at Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Ill., across the county from Naperville. But, thanks to the remote image viewing system, they could get the ED images for reference and planning. The surgeon’s post-surgery DR image showing the reconstruction of the fibula also was available via my mom’s patient portal.

She did what most patients today do with this type of access and posted her X-rays on Facebook. Leveraging the Facebook form of patient engagement, the result was lots of sympathy, flowers and friends volunteering to help her with things around the house and groceries since she cannot walk or drive for at least two months.

While an unfortunate incident and a horrible thing to have happen to my mom, from a professional standpoint, I was happy to see the technology I cover working in the real world as it was intended. The speed in workflow efficiency, speed and ease of access to her imaging at the point of care and remotely, and access to a patient portal are all examples of how the healthcare system should work. In this case, the technology and imaging integration was flawless.

David_FDave Fornell, ITN Editor

Dave Fornell is the editor of Diagnostic & Interventional Cardiology magazine and assistant editor for Imaging Technology News magazine.

 


 

Imaging Case Study: Carestream Mobile DRX-Revolution

 

To learn more about the CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution, click here.

The post X-rays and Mom — Case Study into the State of Imaging Technology appeared first on Everything Rad.

TAGGED: diagnostics, digital imaging, x-ray

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
erica.carnevale January 8, 2016 January 8, 2016
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Implementing a Paperless Credentialing System
Next Article Digital-Marketing-Google-Location-Extensions-Healthcare.jpg Saving Healthcare Digital Marketing Budget With Google’s Location Extensions

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

walking safely
Walking Safety Tips to Help Pedestrians Minimize Injuries
News December 11, 2023
seasonal depression
4 Ways to Get Ahead of Winter Depression
Mental Health December 11, 2023
child safety laws
Child Protection Laws Safeguard Children from Abuse and Neglect
Policy & Law December 11, 2023
Demystifying Healthcare Software
How Platform As A Service (Paas) Tool Can Be Used To Develop Software For Healthcare Service?
Health December 11, 2023

You Might also Like

Medical Device Concept Development Paving the Way for Healthcare Innovations
Medical Devices

Medical Device Concept Development: Paving the Way for Healthcare Innovations

December 2, 2023
medical devices
Technology

Post Market Surveillance for Medical Devices: Essential or Overreaching?

May 11, 2023
The Top 5 Considerations for Successful Medical Device Software Development
Medical Devices

The Top 5 Considerations for Successful Medical Device Software Development

April 21, 2023
Diagnostic Tools for doctors
Diagnostics

7 Essential Diagnostic Tools Used by Doctors

February 8, 2023
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US
© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?