UVA, Carestream Health, and Epic Are Adding Charts, Graphs, and Voice Recognition to Radiology Reports

The University of Virginia Health System (UVA) is partnering with Epic and Carestream Health to develop a multimedia radiology reporting application that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and voice recognition systems.

The reports feature a versatile set of components including electronic health records (EHRs) software, comprehensive and interactive images, charts, graphs, and hyperlinks that makes toggling between report text and PACS images fast and easy. One study at the National Institutes of Health found that by having radiology reports with hyperlinks and visual data, oncologists were able to assess tumor treatment responses faster and more thoroughly.

The voice dictation element allows radiologists to implement identifying data into the image report. “A connection is made between the report and images that we didn’t have before,” said Cree Gaskin, MD, professor of radiology at UVA and associate chief medical information officer at the university’s health system. “That enriched content has the ability to improve communication between radiologists, referring providers, trainees, and patients.”

In order to bring the multimedia reports to life, UVA needed to successfully integrate PACS digital imaging and the reporting systems. So, they collaborated with Carestream Health and Epic to make EHR and PACS compatible. However, EHRs are inherently processed in plain text format, and merging multimedia content with the existing EHRs might pose a challenge. That’s why Gaskin is working with Epic to implement hyperlinks into the image section of the records.