Health IT Platform Enhances Medical Image Sharing, EHR Integration

FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc, has launched a health IT platform designed to enhance medical image sharing and EHR integration in endoscopy suites.

The scalable health IT solution is set to provide GI physicians with the video and image routing and display capabilities that they need to perform advanced procedures.

"As innovators in endoscopic imaging, we understand that endoscopists require more video sources and more advanced image routing and display when performing intraoperative and therapeutic procedures," Devon Bream, MPH, FACHE, Fujifilm’s global vice president of endoscopy and general manager of systems integration, said in a press release.

"Our integration platform was designed for this level of image routing and display complexity in the OR,” Bream explained. “We realized that endoscopists would benefit greatly from leveraging our leading integration capabilities in their endoscopy suites, and we're thrilled to deliver this solution."

This is the industry's first systems integration platform designed specifically for endoscopy suites.

The platform leverages hardware and software configurations that allow for the seamless integration of patient imaging and data.

The health IT boasts in-room routing of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) images to aid physicians in planning and conducting procedures. Images can be integrated into the organization’s EHR system, promoting care coordination by providing streamlined access to health imaging data for all providers involved in patient care.

Physicians can record up to four separate sources using built-in image capture. These sources may include endoscopic ultrasounds, endoscopy, fluoroscopy, patient vitals, MR/CT, or in-room cameras. The system then presents data on large, wall-mounted flat panel displays, allowing clinicians to see relevant data from a myriad of sources in one place.

The platform’s in-room cameras allow care teams to see side-by-side images along with procedural video for comparison, and live procedures can be recorded and reviewed for educational and training purposes.

The platform also provides care teams with the opportunity to broadcast live endoscopic content to any networked destination using the vendor’s integrated teleconference technology. This gives physicians the opportunity to receive clinical support from healthcare professionals who are not physically in the room with them.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) purchased and installed Fujifilm's endoscopic imaging portfolio earlier this year. Christopher C. Thompson, MD, MSc, FASGE, FACG, AGAF, FJGES, director of endoscopy at BWH, said that the technology is helping BWH improve care delivery.

"Having Fujifilm's Systems Integration platform in our endoscopy suite has dramatically reduced our procedure times as we no longer have to unplug wires, change system inputs, and worry about images not routing or showing up on the right monitors," Thompson explained.

"We have seamless integration of all pertinent patient imaging and data without the hassle, and the time saved means patients spend less time under anesthesia, which is helping us to improve our care delivery,” he continued.

Patient data sharing helps ensure care coordination. Recently, Sanford Health sponsored a digital medical image exchange in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs to boost interoperability and improve care coordination for veterans in the Midwest.

When veterans seek care outside of the VA under the Mission Act, it is vital that non-VA providers have access to all of the patient’s health data. The exchange allows Sanford Health and VA health care systems in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska to safely share patients’ medical imaging and records data electronically.

“We’re hopefully going to start seeing some really positive stories because of this,” Nathan Opitz, former Sanford Health Director of Clinical Department Solutions, said in a press release at the time of the announcement. “Getting this connection in place is going to make a huge difference for Sanford and for our relationship with our veterans.”