Document sharing and integrated healthcare technology will play a critical role in the Radiological Society Of North America’s 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting Nov. 29-Dec. 4.
The event, touted as the world’s largest annual radiology meeting, convenes at McCormick Place in Chicago. Officials fore- cast attendance at more than 50,000.
The conference is about science, science and more science. It’s also about education, networking, finance and technology. This year, more than ever, it is about interoperability.
“In this country we have a fractionated healthcare system and a lot of independent players,” said David E. Avrin, MD, chair- man of the RSNA Radiology Informatics Committee. Through its technology development and partnerships with the federal government, RSNA has a principal role in setting universal operability standards for medical imaging, Avrin said.
RSNA will offer a stage for Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Image Sharing Demonstration. IHE is a global initiative by healthcare providers and industry to improve interoperability and information exchange.
“You have users working with industry, staff and vendors on these integration pro- files,” said Paul J. Chang, MD, a professor and vice chairman of radiology informatics and medical director of pathology informatics at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. “Even though it sounds like nerdy stuff, users also have to be involved. That’s the only way they’re going to get an infrastructure that works for their needs.”
Including the patient in the process was critical considering the exploding use of the Internet and the growing patient demand for healthcare involvement, said David Mendelson, MD, a member of the RSNA Radiology Informatics Committee and co-chairman of IHE International.
