Tag: DR Systems

Cloud-Based Medical Data Exchange at Virtual HIMSS

Posted on by Greg Dennis

Exchanging medical information in the cloud is getting more attention these days, as its patient-safety and economic advantages become more apparent.

Among the leaders in this field is eMix, a client of ours. Florent Saint-Clair, eMix general manager, recently led an On-Demand Education Session of Virtual HIMSS12 titled “Cloud-Based Medical Data Exchange: What We’ve Learned So Far.” Virtual HIMSS 12 was held online from Feb. 20-24. To see Saint-Clair’s post on the HIMMS blog, click here.

HIMSS provided the virtual sessions as a way to take part in activities related to the HIMSS 2012 Annual Conference & Exhibition, other than attending the event in person. Attendees were able to participate from any location in the world. Virtual HIMSS12 included both interactive activities and on-demand sessions such as the one on cloud-based medical data exchange.

Saint-Clair’s session described the evolution of cloud-based medical data exchange from its introduction in 2010 to its increasingly wide use today. He discussed why the technology is a giant leap forward from such troublesome, limited workaround solutions as exchanging files on CDs and sending them via virtual private networks (VPNs).

CD and VPN file exchanges are plagued by such issues as time delays, reliability, and security. Cloud-based medical data exchange has created a sharp, and welcome, break with this troubled past. Thanks to the new technology, a hospital can now securely send an imaging or other medical file to a radiologist’s EHR, PACS, or mobile device – indeed, any computer with a broadband connection – in just minutes.

The technology is similar to using email and just as reliable. It is also vender-neutral, which means it neatly hurdles the fact that medical information technology systems are often proprietary and don’t easily “talk to” each other. This was the problem that created workarounds such as CD- and VPN-mediated file exchanges in the first place.

Saint Clair’s presentation detailed the various ways that patient care has been improved by the increased reliability and speed brought about by services like eMix. He also noted the adjustments that adopters of the services face with respect to their workflow, protocols for handling images, and business processes. For those who couldn’t make it to HIMSS, the session provided an opportunity to get updated on an important new advance in medical data exchange with the depth and sophistication that HIMSS attendees expect.

Patient Safety and Cloud Computing

Posted on by Greg Dennis

There are loads of advantages to cloud-based sharing of medical data, but bottom-line, it’s about patient safety, says radiologist Murray Reicher, M.D.

Writing in the latest issue of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (“Riding the Cloud to Improve Patient Safety,” November/December 2010), Reicher says that sharing data via the cloud makes it possible to move information much faster than old methods. This can save patients from unnecessary procedures and radiation – and in emergency cases, potential injury from delayed treatment. (Full article at http://psqh.com/novemberdecember-2010/684-information-exchange.html.)

Dr. Reicher is the founder and chairman of DR Systems, which created eMix, one of the first of the new cloud-based medical information sharing services. He’s also a practicing radiologist.

In the article, Dr. Reicher describes a number of common scenarios that can harm patients because the conventional ways of sharing data – such as burning files to CDs and sending them by express mail – are too slow and clumsy. For instance, if doctors assigned to an emergency patient need to see a prior CT scan from another facility before starting treatment, the patient’s condition could worsen while they wait. In other circumstances, facilities might re-image a patient whose files can’t be obtained in time, which exposes the patient to extra radiation.

Cloud-based data-sharing such as eMix addresses all these situations because it moves data quickly on the Internet, which also overcomes the hurdle of incompatible, proprietary IT systems at different facilities. It is also secure, trackable, and affordable because it is priced on a low, per-use basis without any software or hardware purchase. It is versatile, too. Besides medical institutions, the files can be pushed to patients’ computers, doctors offices, and other remote locations.

“The limitation is no longer the technology itself but simply the speed of adoption,” Reicher writes. The rest of the business world is catching on – 20 million businesses and more than a billion people use cloud-based services, he says, citing a Microsoft claim. His gentle nudge to his own industry: Get with the program!

Full article — http://psqh.com/novemberdecember-2010/684-information-exchange.html.

eMix a Radiology Success in Montana

Posted on by Greg Dennis

Healthcare Informatics magazine reports in its new issue on eMix and the Montana consortium known as IMOM. Using eMix (Electronic Medical Information Exchange — http://www.emix.com) IMOM facilities are sharing radiology images and reports.

See the full article at http://tinyurl.com/29b35db.

Montana facilities use eMix to share radiology images and reports much more quickly and at less expense — realizing a key goal for many of the state’s rural healthcare facilities.

The article puts it this way:

“eMix uses cloud-based technology to house images after they are encrypted and pass through eight layers of security that include a physically secure data center and member and user authentication. The uploaded images are then accessible to the intended recipient through a simple download following an e-mail notification.

“Beginning in November 2009, three Montana health providers-Great Falls Clinic, St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan, and Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell, all with different PACS, started beta testing the eMix service. No significant problems were encountered, and three additional facilities-Benefis Health System in Great Falls, St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, and Glendive Medical Center in Glendive, were added as beta sites. In March 2010 beta testing concluded and the facilities signed up with eMix to continue sharing images.”

eMix is a venture of DR Systems (www.dominator.com), a client of Dowling & Dennis PR.

eMix Radiology Sharing Service Debuts

Posted on by Greg Dennis

eMix, a groundbreaking new technology for sharing radiology images and reports, has made its debut in Montana health facilities. A number of other health systems are also lined up to use eMix (“electronic medical information exchange”).

For “Healthcare IT” magazine’s coverage of this exciting new service, see http://tinyurl.com/yfo4of7.

The first three institutions to use eMix were Great Falls Clinic,
Kalispell Regional Medical Center, and St. Luke Community Healthcare. The service was created by DR Systems, a client of Dowling & Dennis PR.

eMix solves a problem that has vexed medical imaging: how to securely share radiology data between proprietary PACS and other IT systems that don’t “talk to each other.” The solution: eMix uses “cloud computing” to make data sharing as easy as sending and receiving email.

The three Montana facilities are involved in a grassroots organization called Image Movement of Montana (IMOM), which formed to address the difficulty of sharing radiology images and reports. IMOM approached numerous vendors for possible solutions. DR System’s eMix was by far the most attractive option because it was simple, affordable, and required no new hardware or software.

For more information, visit http://www.emix.com.