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With limited exceptions, the HIPAA Privacy Rule gives patients and their legal representatives the right to receive copies of their health records, including medical images. Most patients still receive their images on a CD or DVD, incurring substantial costs for the provider. Although the HIPAA Privacy Rule clearly permits providers to charge a reasonable, cost-based fee to help cover the expense, many providers hesitate to do so, fearing their patients will feel like they are being nickel and dimed.

In healthcare, as in life, no textbook lesson can provide the depth of learning that a real experience can. With today’s technology, educators can provide their students with a deeper, more realistic learning experience, especially in regards to using and studying medical imaging. Educators and students alike now have greater flexibility and a wider variety of resources available to them with the evolution of cloud-based medical imaging software. The innovative educators utilizing this technology can more easily prepare their lessons and analyze their students’ progress; not to mention, students are better equipped with the tools and experience required for their future professions.

Righttime Medical Care provides urgent care for patients through more than 17 locations throughout Maryland, as well as through telehealth services. Frequently, patients visiting a Righttime facility require an x-ray of an extremity such as a potentially fractured wrist or a broken ankle. Righttime operates a mini C-arm to capture these images and can provide a copy to the patient so he or she can then take the image to their physician or a specialist for further treatment. For years, Righttime delivered these images to patients as printed film. “The radiologists hated us for sending that over because they couldn’t see enough to make a diagnosis,” said Dr. Robert Graw, CEO and founder of Righttime Medical Care, during a webinar with Purview.

A standard radiology report is a useful way to capture and succinctly communicate the results of most imaging scans, including X-rays, CT scans and MRIs. Whether in human health or veterinarian care, this summary of the identified condition and diagnosis is a critical communication tool between the radiologist and the treating physician or patient. While radiology reports are traditionally comprised of text, reports with key images improve communication by providing a new layer of depth and understanding for physicians and their patients.