Radiology tech leaders form ‘Ditch the Disk’ task force in push toward digital image sharing
A number of practicing radiologists-turned-tech-executives have banded together to steer medicine away from storing images on CDs, in favor of new digital-based sharing solutions.
Abdominal radiologist Ashwini Zenooz, MD, chief medical officer at Salesforce, is among those docs who have joined other tech company leaders, such as Microsoft Healthcare, to form “Ditch the Disk,” CNBC reported Feb. 16. The group, which includes a number of other imaging experts, wants to make sharing medical images as easy as sending a text message.
The task force was established by the American College of Radiology Informatics Commission and Radiological Society of North America in 2018, and new parties are joining fast, the news outlet reported. Vendors such as Ambra Health, and academic hospitals like Penn Medicine and Stanford, have all jumped aboard the cause.
According to CNBC, the “Ditch the Disk” group meets once every month or quarter to talk about putting an end to CD image storing. Instead, the experts want healthcare to embrace a new “application programming interface” so patients and institutions can access and share images with ease.
“We talk a lot about interoperability when it comes to clinical data from electronic health records,” Michael Muelly, MD, a chief architect at Microsoft Healthcare, said to CNBC. “But we often forget about imaging.”
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Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.