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Countries around the world have established Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) to centralize and mobilize patient records and drive better quality of care and improved patient outcomes. The World Health Organization’s eHealth resolution “aims to facilitate the exchange of data and information to promote health, health systems and training of healthcare workers”, and countries regard HIE as an important tool to enhance patient services and experience to improve care and synchronize development with Strong healthcare trends in preventive and value-based care.
In the Middle East, led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DOH), Malaffi, the Abu Dhabi health information exchange platform, was launched in 2018 and empowers healthcare professionals (HCPs) to make informed decisions using existing patient data from all previous appointments , regardless of the facility.
Challenges of Sharing Radiology Images Outside an Organization
Since diagnosis plays a vital role in the patient journey, radiology images are critical to the overall electronic medical record (EMR). The burden of retrieving radiology and diagnostic images from disparate systems for patients and healthcare providers is enormous. Inability to easily access images of previous appointments with different providers can lead to duplication and overuse or diagnostic services, delays in treatment, poor treatment outcomes, and a poor experience for clinicians and patients.
However, sharing radiology images between different medical institutions is challenging due to large file sizes and interoperability issues. Only select HIEs worldwide have implemented an image exchange solution in the provider’s portal.
Malaffi Introduces Image Exchange Solution
Malaffi’s recently launched image exchange solution now allows healthcare providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to use Malaffi for radiology studies. This latest improvement by Malaffi once again places Abu Dhabi at the forefront of using innovative digital health technologies to drive better patient outcomes.
According to Malaffi’s user survey, 90% of clinicians consider it important to have access to historical radiology images for their patients. Those expected to benefit most from this solution are surgeons, gynecologists and obstetricians, internal medicine specialists and cancer care teams, and multidisciplinary teams.
Delays waiting to receive images from different systems, such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasound images, can frustrate care teams and increase patient stress. Ultimately, in Abu Dhabi, once 60 facilities are connected to Image Exchange, the burden of patients needing hard copy scans or scanned CDs will be removed, removing reliance on patients and enabling HCPs to access additional clinical information in a more timely manner.
The availability of radiology images in patient records ensures that time-pressed healthcare providers now have a comprehensive view of patient records and can view and compare images from different visits and time frames. Image access reduces the need to repeat costly and invasive radiology investigations, which also protects patients from unnecessary radiation and reduces time and costs. A recent study found that the duplication of diagnostic images in clinical settings was reduced by more than 20% after image exchange was implemented.
Another study found that nearly two-thirds (61%) of radiologists felt burnt out, an increase from 36% in 2013 to 49% in 2017. Reducing repeated scans (sometimes unnecessary) can help alleviate this problem.
Likewise, there are many use cases for sharing images across organizations. For example, consider a situation where a patient undergoes a CT scan in a hospital trauma center and is transferred to a tertiary hospital. In these cases, the study found, in addition to wasting valuable time when the patient needed urgent care, there was a lot of CT duplication.
Abu Dhabi at the forefront of digital health technology
As healthcare professionals are increasingly pressed for time, technology can solve many of the problems they face. According to Persistence Market Research, medical image exchange systems are expected to be adopted at a significant rate globally over the next few years owing to the increasing adoption of advanced technologies in the healthcare industry.
For Malaffi, delivering an image exchange solution is a natural next step to continue adding value to clinical users, especially given the emirate’s fragmented healthcare landscape and the need to provide a single, seamless and secure source of vital clinical information. Eventually, two million radiology images from more than 60 medical sites in Abu Dhabi will be made available through the exchange in a phased approach. The first institutions to join include NMC Healthcare, Reem Hospital, Burjeel Holdings and HealthPoint.
As part of the global HIE community, Malaffi has been recognized for its achievements as one of the fastest-implementing platforms in the world. In addition to image exchange, Malaffi has released several features in 2022, such as patient appointments, risk profiles and health portals, strengthening its position among the most advanced HIEs. The organization continues its journey to find new solutions to improve the quality of healthcare and empower HCPs to achieve this in Abu Dhabi.
Now, as the world embraces the emerging healthcare trend from disease care to preventive care and the ultimate goal of practicing value-based care, HIE’s innovations in sharing health data will be an essential part of enabling the future of healthcare. The ability to combine diagnostic images with a patient’s other clinical data and biomarkers creates a platform and foundation for implementing artificial intelligence tools (combining clinical and imaging data) to drive more targeted and personalized care.
References can be provided if necessary
Dr. Sanji de Sylva is Malaffi’s Vice President of Clinical Engagement and Informatics.
This article appears in the latest issue of Omnia Health Magazine. Read the full issue online today.
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