ROCHESTER, NY – eHealth Global Technologies (eHGT) announced that, in partnership with Axolotl, it has enabled the HealtheConnections RHIO of Central New York to incorporate access to diagnostic-quality medical images.

The service, Axolotl Image Exchange, is offered by eHGT in partnership with Axolotl, and enables secure, rapid, and simple access to diagnostic images in seamless harmony with Axolotl’s HIE platform. HealtheConnections joins existing Axolotl Exchange customers Franciscan Health System (Tacoma, Wash.) and the Rochester RHIO (Rochester, N.Y.), as a growing number of health information exchanges are taking advantage of this innovative service.

[See also: HIE lessons of two states.]

Axolotl Image Exchange will benefit patient care by enabling participating healthcare providers to quickly access images originating at multiple radiology and cardiology image-provider sites, with a single click, and within the context of electronic patient records regardless of where they are located across the community served by the HealtheConnections RHIO.

As a result of making images available when and where they are needed, healthcare providers and their patients will experience a reduced need for repeating unnecessary imaging exams, which will minimize patient radiation exposure. They will also be able to provide faster diagnosis and treatment, thus providing better coordination of care while reducing healthcare costs for all concerned. In addition, the costs and burden borne by providers and patients alike of reproducing, transporting, and trying to read CD and other storage media are all but eliminated.

“Axolotl Image Exchange offers a remarkable advantage over traditional methods to obtain images for referral physicians, for image intensive specialists, as well as for radiologists who need immediate access to comparison images from other locations," says eHGT’s general manager for HIE Services, Gary Larson. "In seconds, authorized physicians can view their patient’s images in a single viewing environment regardless of how many different PACS technologies and imaging provider locations they may have originated at. This brings many benefits never realized before, resulting in a new standard of efficiency and quality of care."

[See also: Axolotl team to focus on New York's statewide network.]

HIEs are realizing more and more the value, and even the necessity, of securely sharing diagnostic-quality images across their community in a secure, rapid and simple manner. eHGT continues to make strides in providing a state-of-the-art architecture for image exchange that best balances performance, functionality, and cost, finally making image exchange feasible for HIEs concerned with adding value for their stakeholders while achieving sustainability.

“We are excited to provide our physicians with the ability to view such a complete medical record that includes diagnostic quality images," said Rob Hack, executive director from HealtheConnections. "This eliminates a huge burden on them as well as their patients. It speeds up care, cuts costs, and at the same time reduces the potential for excessive radiation exposure from unnecessary duplicate image exams."