x rays news from FierceHealthIT

In theory, the following couldn't happen if we had a complete, interoperable national electronic medical records system.

Patients who were seen at a Brooklyn imaging center have been …

Despite the widespread disorder in the healthcare system in New Orleans, at least one aspect of the system is working better than in many other parts of the country. Since 1999, a group of outpatient clinics for the uninsured has run a federally-funded network linking the clinics with the hospitals, saving a great deal of time and money which used to be wasted in the past. Previously, when doctor at the Daughers of Charity clinics wanted to order hospital-based tests such as mammograms or …

A group of hospitals within a Pennsylvania health system have set up touch-screen kiosks allowing patients to control much of their initial contact with the facility. Hospitals within the Heritage Valley Health System now allow patients to use the kiosks to log in with their name and information, then as appropriate, check themselves in for blood work, x-rays and other non-emergency procedures. The system, which serves about 350,000 patients in a year, also allows patients to swipe a Care …

With the help of technology originally developed for military pilot training, surgeons are using 3D imaging technology to perform less invasive and more accurate surgery. Through two cameras inserted into small incisions the patient's body, surgeons can view three dimensional video of the operation. They can also use voice commands to call up additional information--such as ultrasounds, X-rays or CT scans--on the headsets. "3D makes a huge difference because you can be more precise and …

At St. Luke's Hospital East--Lee's Summit (Mo.), IT administrators are leveraging digital picture archiving and voice recognition transcription software--among other tools--to allow ER physicians to view X-rays on a computer and read the radiologist's dictated report before the patient has returned from the radiology department. Nurses are paged when a patient's EKG is abnormal, and are reachable over the wireless network. Cardiac patient are monitored over the network by a central unit …