Live from AHIMA: Imaging is the thing

What’s new in the healthcare information management (HIM) world?

Based on what I’m hearing everyone talk about here at the 2014 AHIMA Convention & Exhibit, it comes down to one word: Imaging.

Why are we talking about the importance of having a hospital imaging strategy at a conference for HIM professionals, you ask? Because if physicians aren’t already asking that images be an integral part of the patient chart, they soon will be.

Why you need an integrated imaging solution

Many hospitals have an electronic medical record (EMR) in place – it’s required for Meaningful Use certification, after all. But, as they begin to optimize their EMRs, they soon realize there is a lot of information EMRs cannot capture. This information is known as unstructured content.

In patient finance, it’s the data stored outside of your billing and financial systems. In accounting, it lives beyond the reach of your ERP system. And, in care delivery, unstructured content includes everything from faxed orders to the actual paper chart to diagnostic images.

Healthcare organizations that manage their unstructured content with an enterprise content management (ECM) solution create an information “trifecta,” so to speak. By using ECM to capture and store non-digital data and unify disparate systems – like the EMR and the imaging system – hospitals provide professional and clinical staff alike an Enterprise Medical View of the complete patient record.

The benefits of an enterprise medical view

The resulting trifecta is improved care coordination, decreased time to care, and many times, enhanced patient engagement. And, whether in the HIM department or not, these benefits are something any patient or doctor will appreciate.

To learn more about how ECM can help your healthcare organization with easy access to images, documents and information, go to onbase.com/healthcare.