Last summer brought something of a media moment for mammography in the U.S. The spotlight shone on the star—3-D imaging for breast-cancer screening—after the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study showing that tomosynthesis, when added to digital mammography, is a natural at catching invasive cancers while exposing false positives as impostors.

ClearChoiceMD, the New Hampshire-based chain of 10 high-end urgent care clinics in Northern New England, has installed digital x-ray systems and PACS in all its locations. 

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina—the deadliest storm of its kind in U.S. history—made its final landfall near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with a 28-foot storm surge and a storm tide of more than 30 feet deep. Like 80 percent of New Orleans, many neighboring parishes, and a multitude of other coastal towns along the Gulf of Mexico, Bay St. Louis was devastated by the hurricane.

As diagnostic imaging becomes even more complex, so, too, does the business of running a hospital. Margins are low, competition is high and hospitals are consolidating just to survive. Next-generation imaging solutions are emerging to take the industry to the next level. Industry visionaries have coined the term PACS 3.0 to describe the system of the future with patient-centric data and the fulfillment of anytime, anywhere access. But these visionaries have put the industry on notice that PACS 3.0 simply can’t be achieved without the ability to scale and interoperate with other systems. The burning question in the industry should be: how do we get from here to there?

As radiology struggles to find its footing in an emerging healthcare delivery paradigm that emphasizes collaboration and accountability, radiologist Rasu Shrestha, MD, finds himself at the center of the fray at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Penn., where he was recently named chief innovation officer and president, Technology Development Center.

Over the past 20 years, the radiology specialty has adapted well to increasing volumes, while maintaining a high caliber of service.  However, certain macro-trends are bringing change: the move to fee-for-value vs. fee-for-volume means radiologists must navigate a new and radically different healthcare payment environment, says Brian Baker, founder and CEO of Franklin, Tenn.-based health care research firm Carealytics.

The seamless interface of information systems within an enterprise is the Holy Grail in health systems for good reason: Tight integrations can yield big benefits. After replacing its PACS and tightly interfacing the new system with its electronic medical record (EMR), Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health is reaping the benefits of streamlined workflow and improved patient care across its four hospitals, more than 10,000 employees, cancer center and heart and vascular center. 

Preparing for the paradigm shift to value-based care remains a topic of intense focus and discussion while the concept continues to be defined in a meaningful way, according to Cindy Hardin, executive director, Infrastructure Product Management in imaging and workflow solutions at McKesson.