In the dynamic world of healthcare, radiology plays a crucial role in diagnosing and treating various medical conditions. The integration of technology into the field has brought about a revolution, making the work of radiologists more efficient and accurate. However, there’s a growing concern within healthcare radiology IT – radiologists are spending too much time and network capacity rerouting images.
The Radiology IT Conundrum
Radiology IT, the backbone of modern medical imaging, supports the PACS and a wide range of tasks, from image acquisition and storage to image interpretation and reporting.
However, a growing challenge has emerged in radiology departments. As the volume of imaging studies continues to skyrocket, radiology IT professionals are encountering a complex issue – the routing of studies.
The Toll on Radiologists
Radiologists are at the heart of this issue, as they often withstand the worst of the inefficiencies stemming from incorrect study routing.
Delays and Inefficiency: Many issues stem from studies being routed to the wrong worklist. There is a need to reroute them causing network lags, radiologist fatigue and frustration, and delays in patient care. Additionally, radiologists are spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with image routing issues instead of focusing on interpreting images and providing diagnoses.
Post-processing Issues: Studies may be sent by accident, or entire studies may be sent when only a specific series is needed. This wastes valuable resources, is time-consuming, and costly. Additionally, studies may skip the post-processing they need due to the descriptions being inaccurate or incomplete. This could force radiologists to get out of their workflow to address the issue.
Nighthawk/Teleradiology Workflows: Inefficient image rerouting can strain the workflow of teleradiology and nighthawk reading groups. Study data that is incomplete or wrong can get routed to the wrong service, increase costs, and provide radiologists with inaccurate data.
The Impact on Healthcare Facilities
The strain on radiology IT and radiologists has far-reaching consequences for healthcare facilities:
Diminished Efficiency: Inefficient study routing disrupts the overall workflow in radiology departments, affecting patient care and the efficient use of resources.
Risk to Patient Safety: Delays in image access and diagnoses can potentially put patients at risk, especially in critical cases where time is of the essence.
Increased Costs: Healthcare facilities might need to invest in costly infrastructure upgrades that could be avoided with appropriate study and series routing.
Addressing the Challenge
Enlitic’s ENDEX™ application transforms new and historical medical image study descriptions to a consistent, clinically relevant standard nomenclature that impacts workflows and capacity within and beyond radiology. It ensures that regardless of the source, medical images are consistent. This approach has several benefits:
Simplified Image Management: When all medical image studies and series adhere to a standardized nomenclature, radiology IT systems can effortlessly route the right study or series to the correct destination.
Interoperability: Standardized nomenclature enhances interoperability between various healthcare systems and departments. It enables different healthcare facilities to seamlessly share images and collaborate on patient cases.
Efficient Image Retrieval: Radiologists can quickly access the studies they need because standardized nomenclature simplifies the search and retrieval process. This is crucial for timely diagnoses and treatment decisions.
Reduced Manual Work: With standardized nomenclature in place, much of the manual work associated with translating diverse naming conventions into a common format is eliminated. Radiology IT professionals can focus on more value-added tasks.
A Brighter Future for Radiology IT
Standardizing imaging data to a normalized nomenclature is a vital piece of the puzzle in alleviating the burden faced by radiologists and healthcare IT professionals. It streamlines study routing and enhances interoperability and efficiency across the healthcare enterprise. You have a partner in this task: Enlitic. We are pioneering data standardization for radiology using the most advanced methods. This has been proven to not only bring ROI and efficiencies for organizations, but also to increase staff job satisfaction.
By embracing standardization and advanced technology, healthcare facilities can look forward to a brighter future where radiologists spend more time on patient care and less on the complexities of study management. This transformation can redefine the landscape of radiology IT, benefiting patient outcomes and healthcare.
Learn more and talk to a data standardization expert at https://enlitic.com/book-a-demo
