Radiology informatics systems have been witnessing a transformative shift, influenced by technological advancements and the evolving needs of healthcare institutions. Tracy Byers, the CEO of enterprise imaging at Change Healthcare, shared insights into the significant trends she has observed when speaking with customers at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2023 meeting. She outlined three big trends:
1. A movement to cloud-native systems to increase security and enable easier access to data.
2. Improving operation efficiencies to help reduce burnout and to help with the radiologist and technologist shortage.
3. Financial pressures facing health systems, and hospitals now looking for ways to reduce their operational costs.
"We are seeing huge interest in cloud transformation, just moving their enterprise imaging platforms to the cloud. And it's really driven by two things. One is the operational efficiency, everything from the place of care moving outside the hospital. That's true for radiologists and where they do their work, to where patients are getting their care. And the second is the financial pressures that so many health systems are under, and looking to find ways to invest in technologies that help them lower their operating costs. So those are, I think, the things we're seeing most prevalent in the discussions with customers," Byers explained.
Cloud-native systems are revolutionizing enterprise imaging accessibility and security
Adoption of cloud-native systems and moving away from on-premise servers is a shift propelled by the need for more operational efficiency and growing financial constraints faced by many health systems. The flexibility of cloud technology offers a pivotal advantage, facilitating the movement of enterprise imaging platforms outside the traditional hospital settings. It enables radiologists to work remotely and patients access care more conveniently. Byers said by investing in technologies integrated with the cloud, health systems aim to curtail operational costs significantly.
Enhancing operational efficiency to combat burnout and shortages
The exponential rise in imaging studies juxtaposed with a decrease in radiologists available to interpret these images has created a pressing challenge. To address this, technology-driven solutions, particularly leveraging AI and workflow automation, play a pivotal role. By streamlining worklists and prioritizing studies, artificial intelligence (AI) assists radiologists in managing the escalating workload more efficiently. The integration of AI algorithms into enterprise imaging systems also reduces the time spent searching for prior images.
"Physician burnout is very real. We are also seeing more and more imaging studies. I think the latest statistic I saw was that the number of MRIs have grown 85% over the last 10 years, and 63% for CT. So the number of imaging studies being done is exploding. And the number of radiologists and their ability to read those images is dropping. So everything that we can do from a technology perspective, whether it's with AI or just in workflow automation, to help make them more efficient and help them reduce burnout is a huge focus for us," Byers said.
Embracing AI workflow orchestration and analytics
In the pursuit of operational efficiency, vendors have focused on refining workflow orchestration, which often involves AI integration. This includes prioritizing which studies should be read first based on the type of exam, service level agreements (SLAs) for turnaround times, and ensuring studies are directed to the appropriate radiologist. AI is also increasingly being used to do a first pass read and determine if there are critical findings that elevate the study to the top of a worklist.
Analytics are also emerging as a critical tool in this process, offering insights that enable informed decision-making and efficient management of imaging data. Byers said the utilization of analytics in tandem with cloud-based solutions empowers healthcare systems to handle massive amounts of data effectively while significantly improving access times.
Cloud can help mitigating costs and ensure enterprise imaging system longevity
Aside from operational efficiency, cost reduction remains a key concern for healthcare systems. By integrating advanced technologies, institutions seek avenues to either generate more revenue or manage costs more effectively. Additionally, the adoption of cloud-based systems alleviates the challenge of managing multiple software versions. With a single, constantly updated version, the need for handling various software iterations diminishes. This not only ensures heightened cybersecurity measures, but also streamlines maintenance and support, significantly prolonging the life and relevance of the systems.
"Cloud helps because we're able to invest in the most up to date cybersecurity because we're only supporting one version, and that's the version that's live on the cloud. Whereas in days of 'on-prem' systems, you could be supporting maybe 10 different versions of your software. And it really created inefficiencies. It also made it really difficult for CIOs to manage an implementation of lots of different versions of software. So now what we see is a single version of software always constantly updated. Whenever we find any kind of cybersecurity breach or anything, we're able to fix it within minutes, and that gap is closed and it's only one version of software. So it's super efficient in terms of being able to scale and support these health systems," Byers added.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com