Dear Healthcare Informatics Insider,
Anyone who uses a speech recognition dictation system knows how easy it is to overlook an error made by a speech engine when proofreading a document, especially if the error is a single-word omission. However, the implications can be profound if the document being prepared is a radiology report of a diagnostic exam.
When radiologists at Cork University Hospital and their oncologist colleagues began to realize some of the reports of cancer patients' images contained errors that could affect patient management, they investigated. At RSNA 2012, Dr. Maria Twomey reported what she and her colleagues discovered and the changes they made.
Another concern anyone involved with healthcare informatics should be aware of is the level of security protecting a RIS, PACS, modalities, and archives. Read what happened to an Australian clinic.
The ability of healthcare IT to span continents has made virtual meetings to discuss radiotherapy treatment plans a reality. Chartrounds is a free-of-charge virtual meeting service in which radiation oncologists from anywhere in the world can present challenging cases to expert specialist consultants for advice and to discuss with other vetted participants. Find out how your colleagues can benefit from participating.
Also, don't overlook two new white papers published by the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Radiology Technical Committee.
Finally, if you have information to share that will be of interest to the Healthcare Informatics Digital Community, please do contact me.
