The Radiological Society of North America and The Sequoia Project have teamed up to create the Image Share Validation Program, which aims to set standards for consist image exchange and sharing capabilities for vendors and radiology sites.
Here are four things to know about the program.
1. The Image Share Validation Program will test vendor compliance with the quality standards determined to be most accurate and efficient for medical image exchange.
2. "Interoperability has been recognized as perhaps the biggest gap in what the health information technology domain has to offer patients," David S. Mendelson, MD, vice chair of radiology IT at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, said in a statement. "The RSNA Image Share Validation program in partnership with The Sequoia Project is sending a message. To promote the best interest and care of our patients, the world of imaging is ready to rapidly advance standards-based solutions for imaging interoperability. These are standards employed elsewhere in the world and present a solution that can evolve as new technologies arise."
3. Starting in 2016, the RSNA will conduct validation testing of commercial systems for image sharing capabilities based on IHE profiles, with support from Washington University St. Louis' Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. Vendors who pass the testing program will be awarded the opportunity to use the Image Share Validation mark to communicate to purchasers that their products have achieved compliance.
4. The Sequoia Project will assist in administering the program and promoting it to its constituent members, many of whom make up the eHealth Exchange, a data sharing network that represents 40 percent of all U.S. hospitals, federal agencies and dozens of HIEs.