

This image-based dark data not only fails to provide ongoing value to clinical processes, but because this information typically isn’t controlled by enterprise-wide security protocols, it is vulnerable to exposure and breach.Įncounter-based imaging is a largely overlooked and burgeoning area of activity that needs to be addressed, according to Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the way computer systems share medical information. information assets organizations collect, process and store during regular business activities, but fail to use for other purposes). Furthermore, they often become what Gartner defines as “dark” or “rogue” data (i.e. Identifying rogue dataĬommonly referred to as “encounter-based images,” these assets are typically the product of specialty departments such as dermatology, wound care, infectious diseases, burn care, plastic surgery and point-of-care ultrasound. This is a problematic oversight when it comes to creating a comprehensive patient imaging record. Read More: What Is Automated Machine Learning (AutoML) and Is It About to Put Data Scientists out of Work? However, because the workflows used to capture these images are encounter-based rather than order-based, the assets rarely venture beyond the locations from which they were acquired. These images are important to the diagnosis and treatment of a patient and can provide valuable insights when considered as part of a patient’s complete medical history. Consider, for example, an inpatient who must have a bladder ultrasound performed at the bedside to aid in the placement of a catheter, or a photo of a compound fracture taken in the Emergency Room that is meant to accompany an x-ray.


In today’s healthcare environment, there are several types of medical images captured outside of structured, order-based radiology processes.
