The radiology segment of healthcare plays an all important role of qualitative diagnosis, interpretation and reporting which helps physician/surgeon plan their line of therapy. The diagnostic tools range from age old basic x-rays/ digital x-ray; ultrasound system to high-end instruments; MRI, CT, mammograms to hi-tech technologies such as PET scans, gamma camera etc.
Radiologists have been playing subtle yet highly significant and essential role in patient care.
Digitization is the buzz word in current set up of radiology department. Keeping science intact, rapidly changing technologies have brought paradigm shift in the way radiology department has functioned so far. Almost every imaging equipment of erstwhile era has undergone changes multifold in scanning accuracy, speed, image resolution, patient turnaround time etc. Conventional x-ray with an average turnaround time of over six minutes per patient has been replaced with digital x-ray system with turnaround of less than a minute. Similar is the case with CT (single slice to multi-slice), MRI (0.3 T to 3.0 T) etc. (single slice CT to multi-slice CTs, permanent magnet MRI to high end superconducting MRI).
Also, progress in software have offered better features and expanded the applications. While x-ray/ultrasound was mainstay for cancer detection, today, nine out of 10 suspected cancer patients go through CT/MRI system as primary cancer diagnosis.
In essence, today imaging diagnosis (radiology) has undergone incredible change in offering highest quality patient care. Indian healthcare has changed much with increase in purchase parity, life-style disease/disorder taking over communicable disease, medical insurance (though a small percentile) gaining momentum, government sponsored health insurance, availability of technologies in metro and semi-urban markets, govt. sponsored healthcare initiatives etc. India scores over other developing countries on medical travel count due to its quality as well as cost- effective offerings.
While imaging diagnosis has surged ahead at par with any of the developed country, it is still lagging behind in few areas especially patient data storage. Although most radiology departments in the developed and many developing countries are today digital and filmless, Indian imaging diagnosis has been and is even today largely a film based practice, thus compromising on patient care as well cost. For an abnormal image in a CT or MRI, the scan centre has to provide patient with three to four films as reference doctor demands for it. This adds up to total cost as per film is charged between minimum of Rs.100 to Rs. 250 or sometime above it. Similar is the case with mammography/master health check- ups etc. Apart from cost, this also proves to be hassle/cumbersome to patients as they need to carry these film every time they go to hospital/reference doctor. Except emotional needs, films do not serve much.
Alternatively, storage device will help bring down the overall cost and ease patient’s plight of carrying several films.
In the digital age, hospital/physician does not require the radiologist to be in the hospital for reporting of the scans, as the images can be electronically transmitted to the location of the radiologist using teleradiology.
Medical imaging/records
The amount of digital information generated in medical applications that needs to be distributed and archived is increasing every day. This growth, caused by digital imaging modalities and standardized patient information (medical health records), shows no signs of slowing down.
Digital publishing
Digital publishing systems are the gold standard for digital asset management, disc publishing and printing. With decades of systems and software development, Global branded Disc Publishing are the market leader in automated digital publishing and provide unparalleled global service and support. Businesses throughout the world rely on such systems— from day-to-day disc publishers to organisations that duplicate and print a variety of media as a mission-critical component of their daily operations.
Rimage Medical Disc Systems contribute by replacing expensive film through low cost optical media in radiology whenever medical images have to be stored or distributed. Rimage Medical Disc Systems exceed the demanding requirements regarding system reliability, integration with PACS and modalities, data longevity data and print stability in healthcare and therefore have become the clear industry leader and key partner of all major healthcare companies.
End user / patient benefits
- Reduce costs and automate your workflow by outputting DICOM images to CD or DVD instead of expensive film
- Significant cost savings (around 40 per cent) for distributing images compared to film.
- Rimage disc publishing systems integrate with PACS and modalities to automatically distribute and archive patient medical images and record
- No mix-up of patient images with print information through fully automated disc recording and direct-to-disc printing.
- High system availability and long term reliability through true professional, rugged design.
- Comprehensive system status information in all DICOM applications.
- Rimage API for complete system integration with all medical software and hardware systems.
- Long term printed disc stability preserving all relevant information against humidity, UV or mechanical exposure through pioneering thermal re-transfer disc printing technology.
- Easy integration with radiology workflow
- Adding the capability to automatically record and print CDs, DVDs and Blue-ray discs, from any PC, Mac or other workstations on hospital network, can have a profound effect on productivity.
ConclusionCurrently, world-wide, radiography films are being produced mainly for India as healthcare delivery system in almost all countries have stopped using films for reporting. As a progressive country, we need to shift from radiography films to disc publishing as reporting and storage device. Disc publisher is an ideal solution to burgeoning cost, both to healthcare provider as well as patient. Also, disc publisher serves as best storage device for long term and medico-legal purpose as the image quality remains intact. For the hospital, there is an additional advantage of retrieving patient information in case of PACS server break- down. Handy and cost -effective for patient over long years, disc publisher serves as best replaceable solution.
(The author is CEO, Cura Healthcare)