With information just a click away, the widespread use of the Internet has given rise to a more educated consumer. It is no surprise then, that this increase in consumer education has permeated the healthcare industry. No longer are patients arbitrarily accepting referrals from one physician to another. Rather, they are using all available information to decide what healthcare facility to visit or which healthcare professional to see. Patients are also using their experiences, through reviews, to help others make similar decisions.

The digitization of medical imaging at hospitals has come a long way since the early picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) of the 1990s, according to Eric Rice, chief technology officer for Mach7 Technologies. With more institutions investing in electronic medical records (EMR) and Meaningful Use criteria driving the push toward even better management and storage of patient images, the enterprise imaging strategy has evolved into a vital necessity for many healthcare organizations. This involves the handling of images not only across certain departments, but also across entire hospitals and healthcare networks. The value of developing an enterprise imaging strategy is inherent to any organization, said Rice, whether they are in the process of implementing their EMR platform or looking for ways to optimize it.

The trend in breast cancer treatment these days is all about precision, with the twin goals of controlling the cancer better and reducing side effects. Great advances have been made in radiation delivery methods that make it possible to more precisely target the tumor bed, plus a small margin around it where the cancer would be most likely to recur. By tightly focusing on these areas alone, radiation oncologists can minimize exposure to critical healthy tissue and structures such as the heart and lungs. Less damage to healthy tissue also means better cosmetic outcomes.