DICOM

Article – SIIM: Experiment in web technologies points to future of health IT

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , , ,

Here is an article summarizing the way Cleveland Clinic is using REST-based APIs to solve real problems in their institution. Taken from a talk given by Mat Coolidge at the SIIM 2014 Annual Meeting.

Article – SIIM Hackathon gives DICOMweb a coming-out party

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , , , , , ,

Check out this article in Radiology Business Journal on the recently concluded Hackathon at the SIIM 2014 Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California.

Here are my other observations on SIIM 2014, in case you missed it.

New JDI Article Published – Informatics Challenges—Lossy Compression in Medical Imaging

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , , ,

An article I co-authored with Kinson Ho on the implications on informatics and information management when applying lossy compression to medical images in DICOM has been published. Check it out here.

It also explores whether wavelet-based compression (e.g. JPEG2000) still provides the value that it once promised. A comparison of different approaches to preserve system and network resources is included.

It is available in Journal of Digital Imaging.

Webinar – Separating PACS Servers from VNA…and then Connecting Them

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , ,

I will be doing a Webinar on the differences between your PACS server and a VNA, as well as what to look for in a VNA (and in your PACS when connecting it to a VNA), on May 20, 2014 at 1 pm ET. We will have time for some Q&A, so it should be a good session.

Registration is free. Sign up here.

Article – The time is now for deconstructed PACS

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , , , , ,

Here is another article (on Aunt Minnie; you likely need an account to access, but it’s free) predicting the deconstruction of PACS (and workflow management systems, like RIS). This mirrors many of the same predictions made in the article titled PACS 2018: An Autopsy, published in JDI recently.

The author’s observations on the lack of recent innovation in PACS is likely attributable to the saturation of PACS in mature markets. Would you invest the same amount in R&D on PACS in today’s environment as you would before the PACS “gold rush” of the mid-2000’s? I touched on this in a blog post a year ago after attending the SIIM 2013 Annual Meeting.

Article – Imaging and radiology paves the way for industry adoption of open source

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , ,

Check out this article by my friend, Gorkem Sevinc, on open source software in imaging informatics. Remember to check out the Open Source Plugfest and the Hackathon at SIIM 2014 in Long Beach California.

SIIM 2014 Hackathon – Registration Details

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , ,

I am co-chairing the first Hackathon at the SIIM 2014 Annual Meeting along with Chris Meenan. Check out participation details here.

If the initial interest expressed is any indication, it is going to be an awesome event. I hope that you can join us.

Article – Privacy guru knocks patient ID as ploy

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , , , ,

I posted some thoughts recently about an article on impact of privacy on patient record sharing.

Now, here is an article that discusses the merits of giving the patient control over how they are identified and how their records should be shared.

Fundamental to this are the two approaches:

  • A formal managed infrastructure that provides (cross-)identification and record transport services (like eHealth Exchange, formerly NwHIN), or;
  • An ad hoc one that allows participants to send record information from point-to-point (ala the DIRECT or Blue Button Plus projects).

Some thoughts…

  • As I discussed with a respected colleague of mine at the recent ACR Informatics Summit, I believe that new standards like the emerging DICOMweb (aka QIDO-RS, WADO-RS, STOW-RS) and HL7 FHIR will more easily enable ad hoc exchange of records, but the role of more formal application infrastructures, like those defined by IHE XDS (and its domain specific variants, like XDS-I) will still be used where a mandate for managed patient records across a consortium exists (such as in Canada with the Canada Health Infoway).
  • As I mentioned in my prior post, society may have different motivations than those paying for the infrastructure and tools. This article attempts to express some of the concerns consumers may have about how their data is handled, which contrasts with the prior article’s statements about how “nobody under 30 cares about privacy”.