In the post below, I mention the great SIIM book, Practical Imaging Informatics.   You can meet the authors and talk with all of us at SIIM 2009 in the SIIM Members Lounge and Resource Center from 2:45pm – 3:30pm on Thursday, June 4th.  We will have the galley proof for the book at the informal event so you can see what you will get when you order the book.

I’ll see you there…

My husband and I ate lunch at the Popeyes in the Atlanta airport last Friday.  I know . . . fast food is not good for us, but that’s not the topic of this blog.  Popeyes had a greeter and dining area helper named Dwayne who welcomed people, helped them get their food to a table while navigating with a rolling suitcase and other stuff people tend to carry around when traveling.  He brought diners straws, forks, and honey, whatever they needed so they didn’t have to get up from their seat.  He helped clean up the tables and kept everyone laughing with his stories and his help. 

Here’s my point; we and everyone else commented on the great customer service and how Dwayne made a real difference.  On travel days when people are tense and usually a little stressed, it’s great to find someone who brightens your day.

I recently authored a chapter on providing great customer service for the new SIIM sponsored book named “Practical Imaging Informatics: Foundations and Applications for PACS Professionals” which is available for preorder now on the SIIM website and will be delivered in August, 2009.    If you follow the link to http://www.siimweb.org/index.cfm?id=5784, you will be able to view the table of contents and authors, I think you will find that this comprehensive text will be a great resource for everyone, PACS Professionals, IT professionals, technologists, radiologists, and administrators.    If you can’t preorder now, be sure to order your copy at the SIIM 2009 Annual Meeting next week.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about the annual meeting this year in Charlotte, N.C., a truly beautiful Southern City.  Charlotte is known as the “Queen City” and was named after Queen Charlotte Sophia of Mecklinburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III.  The Citizens of the town named the town in 1768 to curry favor of the king, although we all know how that worked out.  Incidently, Charlotte is in Mecklinburg county (another ploy to gain the king and queen’s favor).  However, on May 20, 1775 after King George III had managed to irk the Charlotte citizens beyond their level of tolerance, they signed what was known as the Mecklinburg Declaration of Independence, declaring their independence from the reign of the King.  It predates the joint states’ Declaration of Independence by more than a year.  There is some dispute over whether this document ever existed, however, on May 31^st, 1775, the citizens of Mecklinburg County drafted the “Mecklinburg Resolves” a series of new laws to govern the town.  To read more about the “meckdec” go to http://www.cmstory.org/meckdec/main.htm.

Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Catawba Indians and many of the old Catawba names for rivers and mountains are used today.  For more history of the area, visit the Charlotte Museum of History.

Charlotte has long been known as a banking center – at least until recently – but you’ve all had some experiences with this current banking crisis.  In addition, it hosts several smaller colleges and the University of NC at Charlotte.  If you have time to get out to look at some local attractions, check out the University of NC at Charlotte Botanical Gardens and the Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary.   For those of  you who are more adventurous, try the U.S. National Whitewater Center with its biking and running trails and climbing center.  The park has a unique feature of a multiple-channel, customized whitewater river for rafting and canoeing and kayaking.   The center contains over 300 acres of woodlands along the Catawba River which I can attest to being full and running fast at this writing.   If amusement park rides are your thing, Carowinds offers over 60 worldclass rides and dozens of attractions to be enjoyed by kids and adults.

Our first “Point / Counterpoint” article is available for everyone as open access on the Journal of Digital Imaging online first.  This article poses the question “Who should administer and maintain Radiology IT systems.  George Bowers, a principal at the Baltimore-based Health Care Information Consultants, argues that the CIO of the organization should manage Radiology IT to avoid duplication of costs and maintain consistency of services.  David Channin, MD, from the department of radiology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, argues that Radiology is dependent on IT, is more complex and valuable, and in fact lead the way in developing systems for medical informatics.  He argues that the management should remain firmly in the Radiology department.   You can find the article at http://springerlink.com/content/f5842326533t7380/?p=cc5ac4821c4f458b877975deb55afd17&pi=2 .

It is interesting to note that on April 30, 2009, Jonathan Batchelor wrote about the issue and the JDI article in HealthImaging.com.  Read it at http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=portal&id=publication:44:article:17280 . 

I spoke at HIMSS about the evolution in Medical Imaging Informatics and the expected rapid growth in imaging in all areas of medicine and the need to proactively plan for administration and management of the infrastructure needed to support these systems.  After my presentation, I met Stephen L Grimes, FACCE FHIMSS FAIMBE, the past president of the American College of Clinical Engineering.  He strongly believes that Clinical Engineers need to be involved in the integration of imaging informatics throughout an institution.  I have been working on a project involving imaging in a large multi-institution environment and the group with the most knowledge of imaging modalities, networking, PACS, and archiving has undoubtedly been clinical engineering at the hospitals.  

Let us know what you think and look for the debate at SIIM 2009 on this topic, it should prove interesting and informative for everyone.

by Reiner, Bruce I.; Siegel, Eliot L.

DOI: 10.1007/s10278-009-9195-7
Online Date: 5/5/2009
Print publication date: 8/1/2009
View article on SpringerLink