Blog

I would love to say that gone are the days when patients would have to physically bring their film with them to appointments. However, I recently was watching a reality TV show (don’t judge) where the celebrity was driving to see a specialist with films of her cervical spine in the passenger seat. I was shocked. Her neck was badly injured, and she wasn’t wearing a brace. What if she had injured it more by having too much range of motion? What if the effects were irreversible? Instead of waiting for however many days, weeks, or even months to get that appointment and deliver the images in person, those images could have been shared instantly with the physician. That’s right - no film, no time sensitive concerns...no problem.

It doesn’t matter if you are a Referring Physician or an Imaging Center, a Referring Physician Portal could help clean up and speed up your workflow. A Referring Physician Portal is critical to the growth of your business. It applies to the diagnosis coming from the Radiologist at or via an Imaging Center, as well as the treatment plan that is typically made by the Referring Physician upon reading the diagnosis. So what is this portal, and why does it matter? Glad you asked!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Over a million patients are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, globally. Breast cancer, like most aggressive diseases does not discriminate by gender, ethnicity, or age. No one is immune. As a patient, the best thing you can do for yourself is to get screened and regular breast exams. As a physician, it is your duty to diagnose and treat the condition to the best of your abilities. And that’s where we come in. We have some ideas about how you can become more efficient and effective in diagnosing and treating your patients.

The sharing of medical images is something that has and always will be a critical aspect of patient care. The information that medical imaging can provide is extremely valuable. If it is not provided in time, it can very possible lead to a delay in diagnosis, which in very severe cases can mean life or death. Without getting overly dramatic, we want to press the importance of good sharing methods that won’t get you in trouble. That’s right, if you are still faxing, burning CDs and DVDs, or parceling your images...think again.

While medical imaging is not the major focus of HIPAA or HITECH, it is important that practitioners be wary of the unique issues associated with this type of protected health information (PHI). Medical images are typically dense data files often much larger than their other medical record counterparts. It’s not unusual to find studies or series of images that exceed one gigabyte in size. Their storage, sharing and archive pose unique challenges for the practitioner. Hence, it is important to understand how best utilize this important diagnostic tool while not running afoul of regulations.