To the Editor: The recent clinical update by Chakera and colleagues highlights the problems and adverse patient outcomes that occur when current and prior diagnostic images are not accessible during the clinical care process.1 While the article describes a locally crafted, tactical, information technology (IT) solution, it fails to mention that much work has been done internationally to create a standards-based, scalable architecture for image and document exchange.
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- 1. Chakera T, Nagree Y, Song S, Jones P. Bridging the communication gap between public and private radiology services. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 558-560. <MJA full text>
- 2. National Electrical Manufacturers Association. Digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM). Rosslyn: NEMA, 2009. ftp://medical.nema.org/medical/dicom (accessed Mar 2010).
- 3. HL7 organisation. Health Level 7, a standard for electronic messaging in healthcare. http://www.hl7.org/implement/standards/index.cfm (accessed Mar 2010).
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Christopher Lindop is Co-Chair of IHE Radiology Planning Committee and IHE Technical Committee. Vincent McCauley is Chair of IHE Australia, Treasurer of the Medical Software Industry Association, a volunteer for HL7 Australia, and a consultant for the National eHealth Transition Authority. Peter MacIsaac is Secretary of IHE Australia.