eMix gets a deservedly starring role in a new article about cloud-based sharing of radiology imaging studies and reports. “Medical Imaging Gets Cloudy,” an article by Tobin Arthur in the online publication, Xconomy, describes the rationale for swapping radiology files in the cloud. It profiles the three leading providers of this technology, including eMix.

Arthur notes that while the radiology imaging field is dominated by three companies, the PACS universe is much more fragmented. Because a complete radiology system is made up of such a large number of possible combinations of imaging equipment and PACS, there are lots of technological and proprietary barriers to sharing files between systems.

The cloud-based sharing services are changing all that because they are “vendor neutral,” meaning they bypass the differences between IT systems much like email does. The cloud speeds patient care and also has as profound business impact.

Radiology systems have been extremely hardware-intensive and expensive – so much so that radiology imaging constitutes a $170 billion-a-year marketplace. But the industry is also “full of inefficiencies and redundant imaging which lead to unnecessary radiation exposure,” Arthur writes.

Redundant studies occur when a patient who was previously imaged by Provider A goes to Provider B for further treatment -- and his studies from Provider A don't arrive in time because of the crude way they have to be transferred, via hand-carried or shipped CDs. Sometimes studies get lost in transit or the CD can’t be opened by Provider B. So the patient is sent down for a repeat MRI or CT scan.

eMix and other cloud-based services change all that – and assure HIPAA compliance – because files can be transferred in just minutes, without regard for the make and model of the two IT systems doing the uploading and downloading.

You can read the full article here.