Understanding Medical Terms in the Digital Era

When the Medical industry (AKA Healthcare) started to pivot from printed out images to digital images it ushered in a new era for the staid medical field.

Top Digital Medical Terms:

• DICOM defines both the file format and transfer operations using the TCP/IP Stack
  
  • When was DICOM standard released? 1993
  • Released by NEMA
  • Sop classes - are a collection of one or more DICOM codes which are codes (commands) for the system
• EHR - Electronic Health Records are the digital version of paper charts
• EMR - Electronic Medical Records were use by clinicians mostly for diagnosis and treatment.
  • EHR vs EMR So the industry has standardized on EHR for patients
• Generative AI in Healthcare - the goal is improved patient outcomes and greater efficiency of care! Are we there yet; nope?
  • Patient Image reviews
  • Predictive medicine 
• PACS - Picture Archiving Communication System - you might see the Dr. and nurse both logging your info into a device (tablet, roll-about) etc, that info is stored in these systems. See below for top PACS vendor list. 
• Patient Portal - you have Internet Access to your Medical Files. Best Practices - select a difficult to guess password this is your private info!!!
• Telemedicine (aka Televisit) - you might of had one or 12 of these during CV-19 lockdown. A 'web-conference' visit with your doctor.
• VNA aka Vendor Neutral Archive which is responsible for storing both DICOM and non-DICOM images
  • XDR stores the metadata (data about the data) put another way think about tagging your data w/ info that helps the Dr. understand the patient more such as Name, DoB, Scenario for images, 
• Wearables - You might own a Fitbit or a smart watch that can track your exercise and even your heartrate etc. This info can be useful to doctors and hospitals to spot trends.

Top PACS Vendors - listed in no specific order

• GE Healthcare
• Change Healthcare
• EPIC
• AllScripts
• Cerner
• Sectra
• Fuji Film
• Philips Healthcare
• Agfa Healthcare
• Mertive (IBM)

Summary - Medical terms can be daunting, they don't have to be. I trust this review helps you understand modern medical terms and alleviate some stress. I am keeping an eye on generative AI as I have concerns in/around patient privacy in this space! Stay healthy its less expensive than not!