One CIO’s Guide to RSNA

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Editors Note: Leading up to RSNA 2011 we’ve asked Carestream’s Medical Advisory Board members for their insight into the radiology trends we expect to be hot topics at the show. 

Q: What emerging technologies do you anticipate capturing CIO attention at this year’s show?

Steven F. Fischer, CIO, Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Minneapolis

Several technologies I will be investigating include:

• Consumer facing technology leveraging mobile devices to improve patient care and their experience.
• Applications leveraging mobile technology to improve workflow process from patient registration to technologist workspace through results delivery.
• Technologies, both modalities and post processing, which will reduce radiation dose/exposure as well as learning of any new standards and regulations that may facilitate dose and exposure tracking.
• Getting an update on the progress of various vendors in the development of thin and no-client reading solutions which provide server-side rendering capabilities.
• Expansion of Vendor Neutral Archives (VNA) into other “ology” spaces as well as becoming document and “blob” repositories for any “bulk” data storage within the enterprise.
• See if vendors are starting to address the need for care co-ordination, i.e. women’s health risk assessment, interventional, etc.

Q: Meaningful use will certainly be a hot topic again this year. You’re speaking on a panel about CDI’s experience. What was the biggest challenge you’ve dealt with? The biggest opportunity you see?

The biggest challenge that our meaningful use team dealt with was not the technical integration of computer-based pharmacy ordering into our system, but getting through the certification process (not for meaningful use, but for Surescripts).  We were caught off guard on the lead time it took to do this.

Going forward see at two challenges:

1)      Tracking and reporting the metrics, and managing our processes to ensure our radiologists meet the criteria necessary to qualify and attest

2)      Understanding and implementing Stage 2 and 3 requirements — whatever they are.

To that end I would urge everyone in this industry, radiologist, technologist, support and business people to work with groups like the ACR, the e-Ordering Coalition to lobby for specialty specific metrics for determination of meaningful use e.g. 90% of exams are read digitally;  80% diagnostic reports are available to the referring physician within 12 hours.

This way maybe meaningful use can be truly meaningful for radiology versus meaningless!

Q: You’ve been in the industry for 10+ years. What is your advice to a first time RSNA attendee to make the best of the show?

Couple of items:

1)      Don’t just look at the national vendors. Look for those fringe vendors which may offer new ideas, disruptive technology.  Often they are the smaller booths (as they haven’t been bought by the big guys yet)

2)      Plan your days, but not too much. Leave free time to just wander and investigate the aforementioned fringe vendors, if nothing else it can be interesting.

Last, but not least, make sure you have great shoes; your feet and legs will thank you!