National Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal, MD, has expressed support for considering medical imaging as part of the next phase of meaningful use, according to a Government Health IT news report.
Because there are a wide range of uses for medical imaging, including diagnosis and treatment, Dr. Blumenthal said “the role of imaging as a meaningful use aspect raises a number of important and interesting questions that I think we will be looking at tackling.”
Most electronic health records are not capable of integrating medical imaging. Instead, the industry has leaned toward adopting picture archiving and communications systems, which serve as storage space for x-rays and images. The PACs can then link to other radiology information systems, which serve as databases for patient radiologic data.
However, the idea of a multimedia EHR is a concept many healthcare leaders believe should be considered. Charles Friedman, the Office of the National Coordinator’s chief science officer, said medical imaging should be integrated with “words, numbers and sounds to form a multimedia EHR.”
Read the news report about medical imaging and meaningful use.
Read other coverage about meaningful use:
- 7 Ways Community and Rural Hospitals Can Achieve Meaningful Use
- ONC Dashboard to Document Lessons Learned for EHR Use
- Hospital IT Officials Urge Simplification of Meaningful Use Requirements