From the floor of the 100^th Annual Meeting of the RSNA, buzzwords were a-flying—value-based medicine, Internet-based systems, storage in the cloud, zero-footprint viewers and plenty of compact imaging technologies. Attendees were deluged with demonstrations of new and updated imaging systems, clinical presentations, as well as updates on image processing, storage and sharing capabilities. From a big picture perspective, however, the message was clear—collaboration is key. And radiologists, both as healthcare providers and business owners, get it that in order to continue to be seen as “the physician’s physician,” they need to work cooperatively to identify the quality and outcome measures that can demonstrate that most effectively, and do so in a unified way.

Some of the necessary collaboration can be achieved through standardization and consistent, structured reporting, while other types of collaboration include sharing those data points between radiology groups, as well as facilitating the exchange of health information between providers.

RSNA’s first comprehensive release of the Radlex Playbook for clinical use, for example, provides consistent procedure names for radiology procedures. The Playbook was reviewed at multiple sessions during the meeting and is intended to be used as a standardized chargemaster of radiology orderables and procedure steps. Radlex Playbook for clinical use has been released under an open license that allows for free access and use. 

Identifying trends becomes a little easier with standardized nomenclature, procedures and reporting to the extent that is possible. Collecting and analyzing those standardized data points as well as others, continues to be the focus of how radiology will find continued efficiencies in practice. Collecting the right pieces of data, recognizing patterns and trends, and turning them into actionable information on which business decisions can be made will be key in the upcoming year.

All eyes ahead as we move into 2015—together.

Warmest wishes for a blessed holiday from the imagingBiz.com team.