As the first installment on this blog, the obvious is for me to introduce myself.
I am a 1995 graduate from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Currently I am the President of Atlantic Street Veterinary Hospital Pet Emergency Center - in Roseville, Ca.
Innovation has been the cornerstone for my practice and professional growth. I have been described as a pioneer and certainly have the arrows in my rear end to attest to the challenges of being an early adopter. I would like to think with age comes wisdom but more importantly learning from mistakes have resulted in some measured success. The rewards lies with being able to survive the mistakes and hopefully share with others so they might learn.
My background in Informatics
The launch into Healthcare Informatics began over six years ago, starting with digital imaging revolution in veterinary medicine. All starting with being the first small animal hospital to impliment flat panel DR (digital radiology). From that point, I quick became educated in PAC, RIS and DICOM. I have had the great opportunity to work some of the brights forward-thinker in the profession. This opened the door to lecturing and writing articles on digital radiology. Along side with the digital imaging experiences, I directed my interest to information exchange tools as well have working with software design teams in enhancements of medical records.
Along with my interest in practice management, my goals are to expand my knowledge and to participate in the development of veterinary medical standards as they relate to data management, information exchange and enhance patient care. Currently I am enrolled in the Healthcare Informatics Program at the University of California Davis, Extension working towards a Certification in Healthcare Informatics.
For the future of veterinary medicine, as it relates to my career direction, my soapbox agenda is centered on collaboration. In informatics (not just in veterinary medicine but healthcare in general), I believe the goal are achieved through the following:
1. Open Source Design - Removing proprietary or "vendor lock", let us pick the best solutions for our practices needs
2. Integration of systems - Our equipment should be able to "talk" with each other
3. Electronic Health Records - allowing for universal sharing of medical information
4. Standards - so that we are all on the same page
My objective with this Blog is to provide an outlet for exchange of ideas and thoughts on issues shaping the future of our profession. I welcome comments and suggestion for topics.
Enjoy
Jim
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dr Young,
ReplyDeleteI am a veterinary radiologist and am very interested in your thoughts about interaction between a practice, such as yours, and me as a diagnostic radiologist. How do you propose we communicate? How are images transmitted to me and how would I return a diagnostic impression?
Thanks
Crispin Spencer
Dr Spencer
ReplyDeleteI believe the interaction is built upon a relationship. This partnership is most effective where both parties (the practice and the radiologist) can directly participate in case management – which really is dependent upon trust and knowing each other. With that said, each party has the ability to choose the relationship – not be assigned. This is not a tech support call.
Without getting into the specifics of system design – I have enjoyed, what I consider an ideal and effective solution to radiographic reporting. We work directly with our radiologist with a system which is primarily built around a report writing program. This report program is linked directly to the radiographic study (can be basically any of the imaging modalities). Both the study (retained in its native DICOM format) and the report are linked/stored off-site servers. This system allows for more efficient retrieval, access from virtually any location as well as network security. Comments from the radiologist are retained within the report but locked to prevent editing on the practice side (preserving the integrity of the report). Additional information can be obtained through addendums to the report.