Healthcare IT

SIIM 2014 Reflections

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , , , , ,

Another SIIM Annual Meeting is in the books. As usual, it was a great event with tons of great information, discussions and networking.

Some observations…

  • There are some very bright folks working in clinical informatics that us imaging informatics folks should be collaborating with. They have cool stuff, we have cool stuff. We need to build bridges and keep each other informed.
  • Enterprise Imaging is slowly catching on. We need more details documented, such as exactly what values we should be putting into which attributes/fields for specific image types, but the overall message of the need for clear and consistent metadata along with the images is finally taking hold.
  • The vendors I spoke to were happy (happier than usual). It is no secret that SIIM is more about education, learning, networking and relationship building than high volume lead generation. It attracts thought leaders and people tasked with knowing how to get things done. Its members are loyal and have long careers in imaging informatics. Still, vendors that I visited seemed happy with the attendees that came through their booths. One emerging vendor closed a new customer on the exhibit hall floor (a first for them).
  • Hackathons are fun and a great way to learn about new technology. The SIIM Hackathon was a ton of work to pull off, but worth every minute. When you give smart creative people effective new tools, they can do amazing things in a short period of time. Seeing the applications and intgrations that the Hackathon participants completed in a few days (hours, in some cases) was great.
  • Twitter is not only a fun to interact with friends during the meeting, but also a great way to get key points of learning (in near real-time) for sessions that you could not attend. Twitter and climbing the SIIM Twitter Leaderboard ladder is also at the level of an addiction for some (you know who you are).
  • Long Beach is a great little place for a meeting.
  • SIIM meetings are very well run. The sessions rarely experience any technical issues. Speakers are well prepared. The agenda is clear and finding the rooms are easy. Sometimes we only notice when things go wrong, but fail to notice when they go right. SIIM staff has this ‘running a meeting’ thing down to a science.

That’s it for now. Already looking forward to SIIM 2015 in Washington D.C.

Going back to Cali (Long Beach, that is)

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , ,

About to board a jetplane to the SIIM 2014 Annual Meeting in Long Beach California. Very much looking forward to seeing friends and colleagues, as well as learning lots and recharging with some great new ideas. A lot has changed in our industry since last year, so it will be an exciting meeting.

And I hope to get some sun while I am there. 🙂

Article – Corporate Acquisitions of Startups: Why Do They Fail?

dondennison Healthcare IT , , ,

This is a great article. With the rampant acquisition of smaller companies by larger ones that is common in the healthcare IT industry, and the inevitable slowing or death of product innovation and organizational momentum when they merge (read as: are absorbed), it is very useful to know why this happens.

On a related note, if you are interested in start-ups vs. established corporate vendors, check out my article on Where to Build 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.

The Gamification of Radiology

dondennison Radiology , , , , , , ,

Check out this article on gamification and clinicians.

In Radiology practices, obvious applications of gamification is using the inherent social pressure of it to improve report turnaround/signing times and peer review quota compliance. Or, even clinician satisfaction of the report.

It could also be used to provide reward/advantage to technologists that provide superior service to patients and acquire good quality imaging exams.

Participating in continuing education opportunities—say, like by attending the SIIM Annual Meeting—could also earn “points” toward rewards.

To work, it needs to be based on meaningful activities, include an aspect of social pressure and provide rewards that matter to the participants.

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 – Intelligent virtual assistants

dondennison Healthcare IT , , , ,

A friend sent me this article on “intelligent virtual assistants” today.

I think this type of technology has merit, but not in the applications that they describe. Accessing patient history information (“Accessing prior reports and specific report content”) or performing a query (“show me all unread chest CT cases”) is already solved with effective EPR client/data integration and proper worklist configuration.

Where this has merit, I believe, is when the new report is being created, and specific words are used, the assistant can then comb through the available data and automatically create links (e.g. a link to lesion measurements before and after cancer treatment), highlight key info to the physician (e.g. because they used the word “x”, some potentially important lab values automatically pop up in the corner as a notice), or in communication (e.g. initiating real-time consults with an available colleague from a list of appropriate specialists based on specific words being used in the report).

To have value, the assistant has to automate the mundane and has to deal with context across data formats, like scrolling through several pages of info in the EMR to see is any of it relates to the current exam (i.e. will impact the reader’s diagnosis).