Neurologists and doctors in charge of treating strokes and other brain damage often have a limited amount of time in which to act following the onset of symptoms. This time period has been dubbed the "golden hour" since patients who arrive at the hospital within an hour have a much better chance of surviving, receiving effective treatment, and avoiding long-term brain damage.
A stroke is one of the many medical conditions that requires immediate action. Confirmation of a stroke and other brain problems are almost always diagnosed via medical imaging; biopsies are only performed when there is no other choice. In these situations, you need to take and read images as quickly as possible.
However, the physician in charge of reading the image often is not physically present when the image is taken. In many cases, stroke victims are rushed to the emergency room in the middle of the night and given an MRI, but a specialist might not be onsite and available to read the image due to the random nature of these emergent situations.
Doctors need the ability to read studies even when they are not at the hospital, and they need to be able to read them quickly, since it can literally be a matter of life and death.
But how does temporary cloud storage figure into this equation for neurologists?
Access Anywhere, Anytime
Cloud storage, temporary or otherwise, is the optimal way to access a study as quickly as possible. You can access it from anywhere, at any time, on virtually any computer equipment including a smart phone. As soon as an image becomes available in the cloud, anyone who needs to read it can do so regardless of their physical location.
This solution is perfect for neurologists who may need to provide a rapid diagnosis when away from the hospital.
Free Assessment: Are You Getting the Best Results from Your Medical Imaging Solution?
Long-Term Cloud Storage Is Not Always Needed
A stroke is usually an emergency that needs to be diagnosed and treated immediately. One way or another, the need for medical imaging usually disappears within a few days after the patient arrives at the hospital.
Of course, the law in most jurisdictions requires that medical imaging studies be stored for some extended period of time, so these images must be maintained somewhere. However, after the initial flurry of activity when a neurologist needs to view the image and make a diagnosis, enhanced access to the cloud will decline – it is primarily necessary for diagnostic purposes.
As a result, using temporary cloud storage is perfect for physicians such as neurologists and other doctors who only use imaging to make rapid diagnoses. These images can often be archived in less expensive and a slower-to-access PACS solutions because the need for quick, geographically independent access has passed. As opposed to permanent cloud storage, temporary cloud storage may be considerably more cost-efficient for neurologists.
Avoid Compliance Issues
For those concerned with privacy and confidentiality, utilizing only temporary cloud storage can help to mitigate future compliance problems. Just like with shredding paper, the fewer physical copies of confidential information the less the chance of it getting into the wrong hands.
While having the study in the cloud is efficient and effective during that initial flurry of diagnostic activity, removing it from the cloud later on could be an optimal decision depending on your particular use case.
Choose the Cloud
The cloud is the right choice to enable quick access to medical images from anywhere, in the case of stroke or brain injury. After the initial need for access, however, the value of cloud storage decreases to where it might be advantageous to utilize slower less accessible storage. For these reasons, temporary cloud storage may be a perfect option for neurologists.
When an urgent diagnosis is needed, the benefits of the cloud are clear.
