A. Disparate systems from several vendors joined together by interfaces or brokers. Interfaces include patient demographics, orders, results reporting, and scheduling. Figure 2 illustrates interface functionality. Interfaces require cooperation by both vendor parties. Some companies are more complex to deal with than others.
Interfaces are time-consuming to design, implement, and support.
Interfaces require a one-time charge, which is based on the hours of technical effort required to achieve the interface. Software version upgrades can require interface redesign. Version control can be a problem. B. Patient information exists in different places, requiring interaction with several devices or systems. Images for the same patient may be stored in different systems leading to some confusion as to where an interested party needs to search in order to view the entire patient radiology record, which includes images, results, and order status information.