Integration of Scans and Radiology Reports into Patient Electronic Health Records

A U.S. health clinic organization is one of the first in the United States to integrate X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans and radiology reports into patients' electronic health records (EHRs).

The images and the radiology reports can be accessed quickly by physicians at Regions Hospital (St. Paul, MN, USA) and at all 25 HealthPartners Clinics (St. Paul, MN, USA). In 2008, Regions Hospital reduced radiology report turnaround times from two days to approximately four hours. This time savings is particularly significant given the fact that HealthPartners Clinics and Regions performs about 34,000 radiology exams every month. "The benefits of being paperless include increased efficiency because images can be available quickly at multiple locations and they cannot be lost,” said Kim LaReau, vice president and chief information officer at Regions Hospital.

Other benefits from this technology include: savings of US$130,000 per year on expenses to transcribe radiologists reports, and eliminating the cost of $300,000 per year to store film. The technology was described in its July/August 2009 issue of Health Imaging & IT magazine.

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