Renewing Connection at the Enterprise Imaging Summit

We were ecstatic to kick off KLAS’ 2022 Enterprise Imaging Summit in early May. That was our third in-person event focused on enterprise imaging, and though we were able to have a virtual event during the pandemic, it felt really good to be back in person. Being in person makes a big difference in allowing people to network and address more topics than they ever could virtually because of sensitivity concerns. Judging by the attendees who came early and stayed late to talk to each other, many of our attending healthcare leaders felt the same.

Addressing the Content

Some of the attending healthcare leaders had implemented enterprise imaging software and had an enterprise imaging strategy in place at their organizations. Others were still in the RFP process. So, the purpose of the summit was threefold. We wanted to talk about how to make enterprise imaging technology more effective, discuss the things that had changed since the pandemic, and consider the best practices to pass along to organizations looking to implement enterprise imaging strategies.

To help with these goals, the summit’s content addressed several topics. These topics included sensitive images, image exchange, enterprise imaging, and what the enterprise imaging landscape looks like now and will look like in the future of our post-pandemic world. Alex Towbin, MD kicked us off with a well-received talk on sensitive images. He addressed ways to make sure that images are protected at an enterprise level now that more and more people have access to sensitive images. People also talked about ways that organizations could continue to expand their image-exchange networks to make sure that they're connected to more organizations and get more access to patients’ images across disparate health systems and networks.

To get an understanding of where the industry is after the pandemic, we asked certain questions. For example, how do we look at staffing at an enterprise level now? What technology investments have happened? Our final keynote speaker, Tarik Alkasab, MD of Mass General Brigham then talked about the future of these technologies, focusing mostly on AI but also touching on cloud technology.

Highlights of the Event

We had several favorite moments during this summit. Registration for our summits is usually from four to six, and it never fails—a few people will come before, but most people will wait until right before the summit starts to get their badges. This time, when we opened up our registration, the lobby was full. People came early, put on their badges, and hung out in the lobby to wait until six. Everyone had all already been emailing and talking with each other over virtual events. But this showed that you cannot replace human connection and the things you learn from in-person collaboration. Our table discussions were loud and enthusiastic. We could feel the energy in the room any time we had open discussions, and that included the panel.

When sitting with healthcare leaders and technology companies at mealtimes, we could hear them talk to each other about the cool things that healthcare organizations are doing. The technology companies were truly trying to understand their customers’ needs. It was great to feel the camaraderie taking place as both sides took on some of the problems in enterprise imaging right now. Even after the summit ended, people stayed to converse. The next morning, people were still meeting for breakfast and going out on hikes together. That is what we always hope will happen, but it was great to see it take place organically.

Another moment showed us how our content was making an impact. After the first keynote address, an attendee from a technology vendor told us that they simply had not understood the extent to which so many images in health systems were sensitive and how much needed to be done to protect those images. It was awesome to start to see them think about sensitive-image issues on a deeper level.

Another favorite moment was when it was announced that Kenneth Persons, a leader in enterprise imaging, was retiring. In fact, he had retired on Tuesday, but he was there at our summit. Everyone gave him a round of applause and acknowledged just how much good he had done for the industry. Ken then shared his dreams for enterprise imaging and what he hoped would happen in the future. Later, someone said, “We're crowdsourcing Ken’s dream.” And from that point on, people would say, “This is the dream. This is where we want to go with imaging.” In those moments, we were able to come together to see just where we could go. We're taking small steps to get there, but there is a unified vision of how much progress we can make.

All Attendees Participate and Learn

The people that came to the summit were such a special group because everybody came to learn and to listen. This was true whether they were seasoned CEOs of multi-million-dollar or niche companies or people new to their leadership roles. It felt like everyone left any existing ego at the door. One attendee was there for the first time, and they told us that at the summit, they had a hard time telling technology companies apart from healthcare providers. For KLAS, that's part of the goal. Our summits are an equal opportunity to share feedback and to learn to lift together.

If you are interested in a future summit, please reach out to us. In the meantime, know that when coming to summits, it is essential to bring your backpack of experience, or at least a new bag to fill with insights. Come with ideas that could solve problems. Come even if you don't have a lot of experience, but you're ready to learn. As you gain survival tools and critical learning moments, you can quickly give them right back to your colleagues and the industry. (Also, if you need even more reasons to come, attendees have told us multiple times that we have delicious granola bars and churros.)

To learn more about future KLAS events, please check out our events page.

Watch for the White Paper

We will be publishing a white paper based on this summit that is intended to be a how-to guide for enterprise imaging. It will summarize the content that came out of the summit and will also share KLAS’ expertise on defining enterprise imaging and key strategy elements. Please keep an eye on our reports page to catch that paper when it is published.

Photo Credit: goodluz, Adobe Stock