Imaging “e-Ordering” Coalition to Form Policy on Imaging Exams

June 16, 2009 - On June 16, the Imaging e-Ordering Coalition will launch a national initiative to help educate Congress and CMS about the value of investing in “e-Ordering” as a proven solution to ensure that all patients receive the most medically appropriate diagnostic imaging test for their specific condition.

The group hopes that e-Ordering will do for diagnostic imaging what e-Prescribing has done for the drug prescription process by automating the way that physicians’ decisions for patient care are verified as medically appropriate and safe without compromising the physician-patient relationship.  

 

The Imaging e-Ordering Coalition, comprised of healthcare providers, technology companies and diagnostic imaging organization, aims to shape policy and work with other stakeholders to scope and implement the standards necessary to ensure widespread adoption of decision-support tools with electronic health record systems (EHRs). 

 

Members of the Imaging e-Ordering Coalition, listed below, are devoting their energies to help educate policy makers and healthcare providers about the patient-centered efficiencies of e-Ordering:

 

- American College of Radiology (ACR)

- Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI)

- GE Healthcare

- Medicalis Corporation

- Merge Healthcare

- Nuance’s Healthcare Business

e-Ordering technologies provide physicians with evidence-based, algorithm-driven programs at the point of order to help them decide on a case-by-case basis whether an imaging service is necessary and appropriate before it is ordered.  e-Ordering is increasingly recognized as the most cost-effective and data-driven approach to assure clinical best practices are applied to all ordering decisions – between $3 billion and $10 billion annually is wasted on unnecessary imaging procedures.