Image sharing demonstration and pilot network link to PHRs and enable 'meaningful use'

What: The Image Sharing Demonstration at RSNA 2009 will encompass methods for sharing images, reports and related information for the improvement of patient care in radiology. The demonstration features patient control of documented medical history and imaging examinations through individual accounts in personal health record systems.

The standards-based network infrastructure used in the demonstration will also be the foundation for an Image Sharing network pilot project currently under development by RSNA and five leading medical centers. That two-year project is funded under a $4.7 million contract from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, with funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The project meets objectives of the federal HITECH program for enabling "meaningful use" of electronic health records, which will be the basis of physician reimbursement incentives beginning in 2011.

Who: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Radiological Society of North America

Interview opportunities with leaders from sponsoring organizations

Where: 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Lakeside Center, McCormick Place, Chicago

South Building, Hall A - Booth 2843

When: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 3:00 p.m. CT

Why: The Image Sharing Demonstration will show how institutions can provide better access to imaging information for patients and doctors by replacing image CDs with network access to images. The demonstration will convey how medical images and radiology reports can become part of a patient's personal health record, available securely via the Internet to patients and their doctors. The demonstration features leading vendors in medical imaging and electronic health records and is based on interoperability specifications from the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE®) initiative.

"The goal is to provide patients with the interoperability necessary for easy, secure access to medical data and control of medical information," says David S. Mendelson, M.D., professor of radiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and co-chair of the Board of IHE International.

Source: Radiological Society of North America