Enterprise Imaging Summit 2022 White Paper
Avoiding Long-Term Challenges through Sensitive Image Management & Effective Remote Work

Common Barriers to Developing Procedures for Sensitive-Image Management

• The industry needs a standard approach to labeling, though it is unclear who (i.e., provider organizations, vendors, or the government) should be driving progress.
• Reaching a consensus on best practices within your organization can be difficult, particularly outside of cases that involve abuse.
• Implementing procedures solves only part of the problem—storing images securely on devices and workstations is critical.

Tips for Obtaining Organizational Buy-In for Sensitive-Image Management

• Legal departments can serve as partners to make sensitive-image management an organizational priority (though both provider and vendor attendees noted that without strong governance and policy input from providers, too much data may be restricted).
• Education needs to take place at all levels and in all departments (e.g., organizations can help radiologists understand why clicks are being added or help nurses think about how images can be used).
• Technology vendors can serve as a hub for learnings and best practices across their customer bases. They can share examples of the challenges provider organizations may encounter if they lack effective sensitive-image management procedures.

Other Best Practices for Successfully Managing Sensitive Images

• EMR vendors have a critical role to play, especially when it comes to tagging functionality. Provider organizations can engage their EMR vendor in imaging discussions to help drive progress around sensitive-image management.
• Focus on visible-light image capture, as this area is where much of the vulnerability exists today.
• AI has the potential to help, but until the industry standardizes body part names and labels, AI’s utility is limited. Organizations should be wary of relying too much on AI when developing procedures for sensitive-image management.
• Cases of sexual assault and abuse are critical starting places for governance, policy, education, and standards.
• We can learn from other industries and use cases—for example, how does Google manage sensitive images in searches, or how do behavioral health departments manage sensitive information?

Unsurprisingly, one of the top areas for additional technology investment is remote work. One provider organization shared that they invested a significant amount into virtual care and adopted mobile technology to facilitate real-time consulting sessions between radiologists and physicians. Provider organizations also mentioned investing in cloud technology, workstations, collaboration tools, and other tools to drive efficiency in the face of staffing shortages.

Another frequently mentioned area of investment is image exchange to support patient care in a remote environment (e.g., patients who are seen virtually cannot bring physical copies of CDs to their appointment). Adoption of image exchange solutions was accelerated by COVID-19, but for many provider organizations, other methods—like HIEs, burned CDs, and VPNs—are still a critical part of imaging interoperability.

Amid Imaging IT Budget Cuts, Provider Organizations Point to Tools That Offer Much-Needed ROI

Diminished funding for enterprise imaging is hampering organizations’ ability to address the evolving care and work landscape. Provider attendees shared that their margins in departments like cardiology and radiology are shrinking significantly and that there is more departmental competition for limited funds. Because of the increased scrutiny of IT purchases, it is critical for organizations to make investments that will drive value. In the group discussions, providers often highlighted the following technologies as driving the biggest ROI outside of the VNA, the universal viewer, and organizations’ work-from-home infrastructure:

• Health data exchanges and other interoperability tools
• Image exchange solutions to eliminate the use of CDs
• AI tools or worklist-orchestration tools that target efficiency
• Point-of-care ultrasound deployment across multiple departments (though this can lead to large amounts of new billing)
• Clinician collaboration tools

How Can Provider Organizations Mitigate the Impact of Staffing Shortages?

No organization is immune to the difficulties of managing staffing structure, turnover, and labor shortages. Many 2022 summit participants shared their struggles and turned to their peers for suggestions. The following approaches were frequently mentioned:

• Use contractors to build out the capabilities of ground-level IT analysts, and invest in outside training sources to supplement knowledge replacement after experiencing turnover. Contractors are best to use when the knowledge is easily transferrable, and full-time staff should be reserved for activities that require more strategic knowledge.
• Find ways to cut technology costs to retain staff (e.g., hold on to perpetual software licenses when possible).
• Plan to address clinical and IT staff gaps jointly rather than separately; this reduces churn and maximizes the time both groups spend on optimization and planning.
• Simultaneously redesign IT and workflows to quickly gain efficiencies that boost imaging volumes.
• Build a culture of effective remote communication to retain clinical quality.
• Standardize IT solutions where possible.