RSNA Press Release

CHICAGO – The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) will convene its first-ever town hall meeting today at its 99th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, currently underway at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Image Sharing: Empowering Patients and Improving Communications (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Room E253AB) will focus on communication among care providers and patients in medical imaging. The meeting will feature representatives of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and participants in the RSNA Image Share network, a secure, patient-centric medical image sharing network launched in 2009 as part of a pilot project funded by NIBIB.

Town hall participants will present their perspectives on image sharing and answering questions from meeting attendees. Anyone interested in the use of technology to empower patients and improve communications is invited to attend.

Improving communications and giving patients more control over their care are critical goals of health IT initiatives like the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) "Meaningful Use" requirements. Radiology sites are examining a variety of approaches to meeting these goals.

RSNA has worked with radiology sites across the country and industry partners to establish the RSNA Image Share Network. The network enables radiology sites to make imaging studies available for patients to incorporate in personal health record accounts they can use to securely store, manage and share their imaging records. Sites can also use the network to send patient studies to other participating sites for to support better informed care.

Last year, RSNA received a new contract from NIBIB, providing two years of support at $5.3 million and two additional option years at $5.5 million to expand the pilot project.

The Image Share network is based on common open-standards architecture and enables patients to control access to their information through personal health records (PHR) without relying on CDs. Images and reports are sent from the participating sites to an Internet-based secure image repository called the Image Clearinghouse. Patients are instructed how to establish PHR accounts and retrieve their images into those accounts. They use their PHR accounts to maintain and share their images with selected providers, creating a detailed medical history accessible through any secure Internet connection.

The RSNA Image Share network currently includes eight sites. More than 22 additional sites have expressed their intention to join the network and are in various stages of implementation.

By facilitating access to imaging exams for patients and physicians, the network has the potential to reduce unnecessary examinations, minimize patient radiation exposure and enable better informed medical decisions. Participating sites also educate patients on establishing PHR accounts.

"The RSNA Image Share network can improve quality, safety and efficiency while engaging patients and families in their own care," said the project's principal investigator, David S. Mendelson, M.D., chief of clinical informatics at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. "Our patients are successfully using the network to access and distribute their medical images."

Image Sharing: Empowering Patients and Improving Communications will be held on Monday, December 2, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., in Room E253AB, RSNA 2013, McCormick Place, Chicago.

Attendees are also encouraged to take part in the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE®) Image Sharing Demonstration in Hall B, North Building, Booth 8140, to see the technology behind the Image Share Network in action. The demonstration features leading vendors in medical imaging and electronic health records and is based on interoperability specifications from the IHE initiative.

Note: Copies of other RSNA 2013 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press13 beginning Monday, Dec. 2.

RSNA is an association of more than 53,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)