Ocular Imaging Challenges, Current State, and a Path to Interoperability: A HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Background:

• Office-based ocular imaging is standard for assessing eye structure and function.
• Advances in imaging and AI present opportunities for rapid eye disease diagnosis.
• Current clinical workflows often lack integration, particularly in smaller practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the current state of ocular imaging.
• To identify challenges in interoperability, reporting, and clinical workflow.
• To highlight barriers to optimizing patient care in eye care settings.

Main Methods:

• Review of current practices in office-based ocular imaging.
• Analysis of digital workflow adoption in large institutions versus smaller clinics.
• Examination of interoperability issues in healthcare, specifically within eye care.

Main Results:

• Large institutions leverage integrated digital workflows (EHR, imaging archives, diagnostic viewers).
• Smaller and independent eye clinics lag in adopting these advanced digital workflows.
• Fragmented interoperability practices impede seamless data sharing and collaboration among healthcare providers.

Conclusions:

• Interoperability, reporting, and workflow inefficiencies are key challenges in ocular imaging.
• Addressing these issues is crucial for improving clinical practice and patient outcomes in eye care.
• Enhanced collaboration is essential, given the scarcity of specialized eye care centers.