This article is by Douglas Smith, MD, president of Musculoskeletal Imaging Consultants.
Technology is revolutionizing how sports medicine teleradiology is practiced. You can now examine an injured athlete, obtain an MRI using your in-office MRI, review the MRI with your personal sports radiologist during an online session on your tablet computer or cell phone, and obtain a finalized report, all within one hour. 1. In-office MRI scanners. In-office MRI scanners are now a standard part of many sports medicine practices. A dedicated sports medicine teleradiology company can assist you in selecting in-office MRI scanner based on the anatomic coverage requirements and the restrictions of your office environment, such as structural restrictions and space availability. A sports medicine teleradiology group can also provide supervision of your MRI scanner and serve as the "Supervising Physician" as required by MIPPA accreditation standards (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act).
2. Cloud computing. Cloud computing is a game changer in sports medicine. No local servers or software are required. You transmit your images to a HIPAA/HITECH compliant sports medicine private cloud and receive your finalized reports right on your SmartPhone or tablet computer.
3. Immediate Reporting. Your MRI images are transmitted to the sports medicine Cloud as they are acquired. Your personal team radiologist reads the study, annotates key images that display the pertinent findings, and dictates a final report within minutes using voice recognition technology. You immediately receive a text message or email that the report is available for review and viewable right on your SmartPhone or tablet PC (or within your EMR).
If you want to consult with your radiologist, a simple icon click initiates a real-time online consultation session during a secure screen sharing session right on your tablet. Before the athlete can return to the exam room, you have a finalized report with attached key images and have all your questions answered. A sports medicine Cloud can also provide offsite archiving required by HIPAA/HITECH.
4. It's available with both in-house and MRI examinations you send out to imaging centers. Even if you don’t have an in-office MRI, you can have your local imaging center send your athlete's studies to the sports medicine Cloud. Even if you send to multiple imaging centers, all your patients will appear on your personalized PACS display on the sports Cloud if they send to the sports medicine Cloud for reading.
5. Athlete privacy management. Once you have the finalized report, there are many non-medical people that want access to the report and information about when the injured athlete can return to competition. Trainers, coaches, team representatives, media and fans and even gamblers all have an intense interest in the outcome of medical evaluation. The athlete’s privacy must balanced against the desires of non-medical parties for information. Disclosure of protected health information (PHI) is controlled by complex regulatory requirements including of FERPA (for student athletes), HIPAA or contractual employment agreements (including collective bargaining agreements for professional athletes).
In many cases, a signed disclosure release may be required from the injured athlete (or parent). A HIPAA compliant release must be time-limited and include specifics about what information may be disclosed, to whom and for what purpose with a mechanism for the athlete to withdraw permission. A cloud-based, athlete privacy control service such as Elite Athlete Imaging can assist the team physician in managing the athlete’s privacy controls and assure that everyone has a current medical information disclosure and that online access is granted only to individuals authorized by the athlete .
6. Cloud-based athlete privacy management. The athlete (or designee) completes a questionnaire to determine which regulatory controls govern the athlete’s ePHI. The injured athlete then completes an online disclosure authorization directing what ePHI can be released, to whom, for what purpose and for how long. The athlete can withdraw the information at any time. The athlete is given an option to send a secure email link to designated recipients that allows the authorized recipient to download the approved ePHI from a secure server.
7. Discrete expert radiology opinions. At times professional athletic teams and/or player agents need an unbiased opinion from the leading sports radiologists in the country. There may be a disagreement about the significance of an imaging finding between two teams or a payor and a team with millions of dollars in contract payment in dispute. Using an elite athlete imaging cloud, unbiased opinions can be obtained from the leading sports radiologists in the country that are blinded from the identifying information of the athlete's identity and the teams involved while reading the study.
8. Discrete athlete imaging. Many elite athletes are terrified that the results of their ePHI will be leaked to the media and jeopardize contract negotiations or opportunity to compete. The "best practice" for elite athlete imaging is to assign an identification number to the athlete rather than identifying information such as name at registration. The athlete is only referenced to by the identification number throughout the process. None of the imaging center staff or the radiologists know the identity of the patient or the professional sports teams involved. This will help the athlete is have complete control over privacy.
Technology is revolutionizing how sports medicine teleradiology is practiced. You can now examine an injured athlete, obtain an MRI using your in-office MRI, review the MRI with your personal sports radiologist during an online session on your tablet computer or cell phone, and obtain a finalized report, all within one hour. 1. In-office MRI scanners. In-office MRI scanners are now a standard part of many sports medicine practices. A dedicated sports medicine teleradiology company can assist you in selecting in-office MRI scanner based on the anatomic coverage requirements and the restrictions of your office environment, such as structural restrictions and space availability. A sports medicine teleradiology group can also provide supervision of your MRI scanner and serve as the "Supervising Physician" as required by MIPPA accreditation standards (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act).
2. Cloud computing. Cloud computing is a game changer in sports medicine. No local servers or software are required. You transmit your images to a HIPAA/HITECH compliant sports medicine private cloud and receive your finalized reports right on your SmartPhone or tablet computer.
3. Immediate Reporting. Your MRI images are transmitted to the sports medicine Cloud as they are acquired. Your personal team radiologist reads the study, annotates key images that display the pertinent findings, and dictates a final report within minutes using voice recognition technology. You immediately receive a text message or email that the report is available for review and viewable right on your SmartPhone or tablet PC (or within your EMR).
If you want to consult with your radiologist, a simple icon click initiates a real-time online consultation session during a secure screen sharing session right on your tablet. Before the athlete can return to the exam room, you have a finalized report with attached key images and have all your questions answered. A sports medicine Cloud can also provide offsite archiving required by HIPAA/HITECH.
4. It's available with both in-house and MRI examinations you send out to imaging centers. Even if you don’t have an in-office MRI, you can have your local imaging center send your athlete's studies to the sports medicine Cloud. Even if you send to multiple imaging centers, all your patients will appear on your personalized PACS display on the sports Cloud if they send to the sports medicine Cloud for reading.
5. Athlete privacy management. Once you have the finalized report, there are many non-medical people that want access to the report and information about when the injured athlete can return to competition. Trainers, coaches, team representatives, media and fans and even gamblers all have an intense interest in the outcome of medical evaluation. The athlete’s privacy must balanced against the desires of non-medical parties for information. Disclosure of protected health information (PHI) is controlled by complex regulatory requirements including of FERPA (for student athletes), HIPAA or contractual employment agreements (including collective bargaining agreements for professional athletes).
In many cases, a signed disclosure release may be required from the injured athlete (or parent). A HIPAA compliant release must be time-limited and include specifics about what information may be disclosed, to whom and for what purpose with a mechanism for the athlete to withdraw permission. A cloud-based, athlete privacy control service such as Elite Athlete Imaging can assist the team physician in managing the athlete’s privacy controls and assure that everyone has a current medical information disclosure and that online access is granted only to individuals authorized by the athlete .
6. Cloud-based athlete privacy management. The athlete (or designee) completes a questionnaire to determine which regulatory controls govern the athlete’s ePHI. The injured athlete then completes an online disclosure authorization directing what ePHI can be released, to whom, for what purpose and for how long. The athlete can withdraw the information at any time. The athlete is given an option to send a secure email link to designated recipients that allows the authorized recipient to download the approved ePHI from a secure server.
7. Discrete expert radiology opinions. At times professional athletic teams and/or player agents need an unbiased opinion from the leading sports radiologists in the country. There may be a disagreement about the significance of an imaging finding between two teams or a payor and a team with millions of dollars in contract payment in dispute. Using an elite athlete imaging cloud, unbiased opinions can be obtained from the leading sports radiologists in the country that are blinded from the identifying information of the athlete's identity and the teams involved while reading the study.
8. Discrete athlete imaging. Many elite athletes are terrified that the results of their ePHI will be leaked to the media and jeopardize contract negotiations or opportunity to compete. The "best practice" for elite athlete imaging is to assign an identification number to the athlete rather than identifying information such as name at registration. The athlete is only referenced to by the identification number throughout the process. None of the imaging center staff or the radiologists know the identity of the patient or the professional sports teams involved. This will help the athlete is have complete control over privacy.
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