Over 90 Total Lots Up For Auction at One Location - WA 04/08

IT Matters – A banner year for health IT education

by Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | June 05, 2015
David Hirschorn
From the May 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

Health IT has many major challenges ahead. From integrating PACS to perform above and beyond its originally intended level, to dealing with employee-owned devices being utilized in the workplace, to the looming ICD-10 deadline that can’t be kicked down the road forever, health IT professionals have their plates full. Fortunately, for every problem, professionals are finding answers and the professionals within the health IT community are increasingly open to sharing those answers with their peers. One of the more popular ways to exchange information is to attend conferences.

With spring finally here, the show and conference season is starting to pick up. HealthCare Business News spoke with Dr. David Hirschorn, one of the leading voices in health informatics, about some of the big events taking place over the next few months. The first, ACR 2015, takes place in Washington D.C., starts on May 17 and runs through May 21.

ACR has presented an annual meeting for nearly half a century. According to Hirschorn, this year marks the first year that there will be a “knowledge pathway” or educational track, dedicated to informatics and innovation. Hirschorn, who co-chaired the group that developed the educational tracks for informatics, is excited about the offerings.

Attendees will have the chance to learn more about the potential impact mobile apps will have on radiology and will also learn about FDA regulations that continue to shape the future of those mobile apps.

Another offering deals with social media and how it can be used to advance medical imaging efforts. Other educational track offerings include a section on optimizing electronic health records to improve patient care; image sharing and data management; clinical decision support; sections on dose reduction/control; teleradiology; and personalized medicine.

On the final day of the conference, the informatics and innovation educational track wraps with a topic that Hirschorn has been delving into quite extensively — clinical test result management. According to Hirschorn, clinical test result management requires non-routine communication between the radiologist and physician of record for the patient — such as in-person meetings and phone calls.

Just a week later, the IT offerings get ramped up from one learning path to the whole focus of the conference when the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine presents its annual meeting at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The show, taking place from May 28 through the 30, is carrying the theme, “Creating the Image Enabled Enterprise.” With more than two decades of history, PACS’ place in the future of health care has received more attention in recent years. Some predict PACS will be replaced by something quite different, while others anticipate updates and adjustments to make it play nice with the numerous information sources today’s hospitals have to manage. That’s why this year’s SIIM opening general session presenter Donald K. Dennison, of the consulting firm Don K. Dennison Solutions, Inc., will likely give attendees quite a lot to consider when he gives his talk, “The Next Imaging Evolution: A World Without PACS (as we know it).”

You Must Be Logged In To Post A Comment