An Interview with the Carequality Imaging Use Case Implementers.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Imaging
• Healthcare Interoperability

Background:

• Healthcare data sharing networks often function in silos, limiting information exchange.
• Existing systems restrict providers to specific networks, hindering comprehensive patient data access.
• The need for a unified framework to enable cross-network health information exchange is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Carequality as a national trust framework for healthcare data sharing.
• To detail the development and implementation of an interoperability framework for the Imaging Exchange Use Case.
• To highlight the collaborative effort between RSNA and Carequality in advancing medical imaging exchange.

Main Methods:

• Development of a consensus-built, common interoperability framework by Carequality.
• Creation of a specific implementation guide for the Imaging Exchange Use Case in partnership with RSNA.
• Review and testing of the guide by early adopters and implementers.

Main Results:

• Publication of the Imaging Exchange Use Case implementation guide in December 2019.
• Approval of the guide for production use in March 2021 after successful testing.
• Participation of five key implementers (Ambra Health, Hyland, Life Image, Nuance, Philips) in the Image Exchange Use Case.

Conclusions:

• The Carequality framework facilitates network-to-network interoperability in healthcare.
• Standardized exchange protocols are essential for enabling medical imaging interoperability.
• Collaboration among implementers is crucial for addressing gaps in image interoperability and driving innovation.