This weekend I head to RSNA where the focus this year is on healthcare Information Technology. I look forward to updating you on my learnings therefrom.
The Pendergrass lecture at the RSNA is the keynote lecture, and is usually on a topic of current relevance. It was interesting to me therefore that there was not one but two Pendergrass lectures (it was a split session) and that the topics were both related to healthcare IT, both by luminaries in the field. Keith Dreyer, DO of the Partners Group in Boston spoke on Meaningful Use, a new concept that mandates the use of information technology by radiology practices in the US, with incentives for using them and penalties for defaulting. And Dr Paul Chang of the University of Chicago, ever a popular speaker spoke on Value Innovation, noting that PACS and RIS are now passé in radiology, and that true technology innovation requires advanced workflow, comprehensive collaboration, business intelligence tools, and communication with the consumer or patient. http://db2012.rsna.org/index.cfm?pg=12tue01
I also took the opportunity to attend the session on Informatics that discussed further developments in the use of the Ipad in radiology. I was happy to note that the ipad is now held to be a key educational tool for the new high tech generation of radiology residents, or what are described as “millennial learners.” http://rsna2012.rsna.org/search/event_display.cfm?em_id=12028044