The Idaho Health Data Exchange (IHDE) and St. Luke’s Health System (SLHS) have announced the launch of Image Exchange viewing capability, which will allow authorized physicians, hospitals, and clinicians to instantly access, view, and collaborate on their patients’ SLHS diagnostic-quality images from the IHDE through a secure, universal web application.

Powered by Rochester, N.Y.-based eHealth Technologies, images including X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, PET scans and ultrasounds that traditionally take hours or days to procure, are now available within seconds from the IHDE via Image Exchange. All images are available where and when they are needed, saving healthcare dollars from being wasted on unnecessary duplicated procedures and time spent waiting to receive CDs or large file transfers.

“The IHDE is excited to be able to offer participants this new functionality,” Scott Carrell, executive director, Idaho Health Data Exchange, said in a statement. “It further develops IHDE’s ability to assist healthcare providers by providing them with easy access to images for the treatment of their patients.”

Marc Chasin, M.D., system vice president, interim CIO & CMIO, St. Luke’s Health System, added, “By accessing the Idaho Health Data Exchange, clinicians can collaborate on mutual patients thus improving the efficiency and effectiveness in rendering high quality, low cost care. It allows radiologists to share images performed outside of the system and view them in order to improve the diagnostic quality and changes in the care of the patient.

Idaho physicians using the IHDE Image Exchange feature can get easier and quicker access to images versus the traditional way of logging onto multiple sites, or calling and faxing in requests to hospitals’ imaging and medical records departments and independent imaging centers—and then waiting for CDs to be burned and sent via mail, courier or with the patient.  As soon as an image has been signed off by a radiologist, it is available and accessible via the IHDE Image Exchange within seconds.

The benefits of accessing images from the IHDE include:

• Minimizing delays in patient treatment
• Reducing the need for costly duplicate exams
• Limiting unnecessary radiation exposure for patients
• Decreasing risk of medical errors due to incomplete records
• Patients no longer need to obtain and carry CDs of their images
• Physicians can compare current and past diagnostic tests
• The systems is all web-based and hyperlink driven; there is nothing for physicians or hospitals to download and no additional usernames and passwords to remember

IHDE enables authorized and participating healthcare providers to securely exchange critical patient information electronically from hospitals, providers, labs and radiology centers to other healthcare providers in real-time. IHDE has successfully connected several hospitals, labs and providers, and more than 1,200 participating users to the statewide exchange, and is actively working to connect additional hospitals, physician practices and all other healthcare stakeholders across Idaho.