Ambra Health has been attending the annual SIIM conference for quite a few years now, and we always look forward to the unique intersection of physicians, self-described informatics “geeks”, and PACS administrators.
The theme of this year’s show was collaboration, and as our team packed up our boxes and ate the remaining booth candy on Saturday, we found ourselves discussing how this theme had seemed to really take root. More than ever, discussions focused on interoperability between systems, team efforts to improve radiology workflows, and working together to achieve more diversity in the medical imaging world.
The Ambralievable team is ready at booth 410. #SIIM18 #ImagingIT pic.twitter.com/ufcQkZfKjI
— Ambra Health (@ambrahealth) May 31, 2018
Ambra Health CEO, Morris Panner, spoke on an #AskIndustry session on collaboration across the enterprise. As radiologists begin to step “out of the darkroom,” there is much to consider. What happens when patients reach out to a radiologist before their referring physician? What happens when a patient calls during reading hours? Will the interruptions become so great that radiologists will face a delay in report turnaround time? Panelists shared strategies including using apps wisely, making sure that scheduling takes interruptions into account, and improving workflow routing.
“We’ve seen many facilities find success by image enabling their EHR and creating a central “cockpit” for all the information. ” – Morris Panner, CEO Ambra Health
Reducing interruptions will be a joint effort, and collaboration in medical imaging across the healthcare enterprise comes down to a platform’s ability to tailor to the radiology department and, in some cases, the individual radiologist’s workflow. As Morris Panner said, “We’ve seen many facilities find success by image enabling their EHR and creating a central “cockpit” for all the information. ”
While collaboration among vendors and technology is critical, there is something to be said for human collaboration as well. Time and time again, we have seen that when different perspectives come together, ideas are shared that may not have come up previously. This was the original foundation of #RADxx, a movement started by Ambra Health and Dr. Geraldine McGinty that focuses on networking and mentorship opportunities for women leaders in radiology, informatics, and IT management of radiology systems. Women are still an underrepresented group in the field.
Ambra Health held a #RADxx event that was widely attended and inspired many discussions on how to encourage more female residents to be interested in radiology and informatics. The following day, Ambra also sponsored a roundtable discussion led by Dr. Amy Kotsenas and Dr. Tessa Cook on women in medical imaging and informatics.
#RADXX champions Tessa Cook (@asset25) and Amy Kotsenas (@AmyKotsenas) leading #SIIM18 roundtable on the challenges facing women in informatics and imaging. pic.twitter.com/SZe1xOndEg
— Ambra Health (@ambrahealth) June 1, 2018
The group divided up into tables and each group shared some of the unique struggles they had felt as women in the industry including frequently being the only woman in a meeting, encouraging more young women to enter math and science-based fields, and overall work-life balance. #RADxx events are not just for women, men are always encouraged to attend and share their experiences as well. Jason Howie, Ambra’s Director of Demand Generation & Operations, shared his thoughts as a man (with several women on his team!) following the roundtable here.
Following the session, Dr. Tessa Cook was interviewed by Aunt Minnie. Check out the video below to learn even more about #RADxx! Thank you again to all who participated.
Catherine Slotnick is a passionate healthcare marketer with a deep interest in the latest & greatest in the Health IT space. As Ambra Health's senior marketing manager, Catherine primarily focuses on creating and sharing thought leadership content in the radiology and informatics space. Catherine graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Psychology & Art History. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and petting dogs that aren't hers.
