Network for Clinical Interoperability Provides Imaging Findings Directly to Physician EHR Systems

New imaging network connectivity will allow hospitals and imaging centers to electronically provide imaging reports to healthcare provider organizations through electronic health records (EHRs).

Merge Healthcare, Inc. (Chicago, IL, USA), a provider of clinical systems, will connect its extensive imaging network with the Surescripts (Arlington, VA, USA) Network for Clinical Interoperability. In addition to electronically receiving the report through their EHR, ordering physicians will be able to access and view images securely from the Merge Honeycomb cloud-based system. Sharing findings and images is immediately clinically important and it will become increasingly vital as EHR vendors work to certify their systems, and organizations look to attest to meaningful use (MU) stage 2.

“With the majority of physician groups and hospitals now having an EHR in place, these organizations want to receive results electronically to increase efficiency and avoid errors, however connecting to hundreds of certified EHRs is expensive, custom work,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. “With Surescripts delivering connectivity solutions that improve the delivery of vital clinical care information between care providers/organizations, and Merge offering premium imaging content, we can help hospitals and imaging centers improve efficiency, reduce costs, and most importantly, strengthen care collaboration among referring physicians by delivering radiology reports and image links directly into the physician’s EHR.”

“Every day, critical clinical information is kept from where it needs to go by technical barriers to clear channels of communication. These obstacles produce an incomplete view of patient records, create the potential for risk to patient health, and increase the cost of healthcare,” said Harry Totonis, president and CEO of Surescripts. “Working with Merge, the Surescripts Network will now offer hospitals and imaging centers the ability to share imaging reports and images, which will continue to improve care delivery and collaboration.”

Merge developed an integrated range of enterprise imaging systems that enable hospitals and imaging centers to store, manage, and share medical images both onsite and in the cloud. Both current Merge customers as well as users of other imaging solutions will be able to utilize Merge technology to become part of this new, electronic delivery solution.

Merge’s enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, 24/7. In addition, Merge provides health stations, clinical trials software, and other health data and analytics systems.

The Surescripts network supports the most comprehensive ecosystem of health care organizations nationwide. Pharmacies, payers, pharmacy benefit managers, physicians, hospitals, health information exchanges, and health technology firms rely on Surescripts to more easily and securely share health information.

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Merge Healthcare
Surescripts