Millions of medical images are wasted every year. For patients, wasted images equates to higher costs and longer wait times for diagnosis. For doctors, it saps vital resources and is a source of significant frustration. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 30% of medical images are lost every year1.
How can we begin to stem this waste? Meet myMedImage (www.mymedimage.com). myMedImage is the brainchild of physicians already participating actively in the telemedicine revolution coupled with the elegant work of thoughtful information technologists.?
myMedImage has begun its crowd funding campaign to make access to this DICOM compliant PACS system completely free of charge to patients and participating physicians and plans to raise over $200,000 via a crowd funding campaign on IndieGogo http://www.igg.me/at/mymedimage.
myMedImage is a game changer. myMedImage directly links supported patients (no matter where they are in the world) to primary care and specialty physicians through its unique medical imaging sharing and consultative network. The model ensures the highest quality, timely care for patients by maintaining the patient-physician contract.
Dr. Christopher Hancock, Radiologist and CEO of myMedImage says, “we asked ourselves ‘how could we solve the real world problem of sharing, storing and managing medical images for those who are remote, or lack access to specialists, or who live in places without established healthcare infrastructures? We came up with a solution that does all that and more—including access to the specialty care so many worldwide desperately need.”
The myMedImage system allows diagnostic images to be seen in a full-featured online cloud based medical image viewer using internally developed vendor-neutral uploading software and storage, accessible through virtually any internet-enabled device―smartphone, tablet or browser.
myMedImage offers its service to individuals, physicians, caregivers, hospitals and governments globally streamlining the entire medical imaging viewing process—preventing unnecessary, wasted and duplicate medical imaging.
Why myMedImage?
The growing use of cell phones, iPads and portable devices accessing the Internet—even in remotest locales—means it is now possible for medical images and patient videos to be shared with specialists globally. Any doctor or patient with access to the internet (through dial-up, DSL, cable, satellite, or whatever way they access the internet) can upload and share medical images with doctors around the world.
myMedImage finally connects the 20%-30% of medical cases that cannot be diagnosed through a clinical exam and patient history alone2 and the ⅔ of the earth’s population that has no access to medical imaging (a key additional diagnostic tool at a physician’s disposal3) with critical and specialist care!
References
1 Colliver V. 2005. Curbing Costs of Medical Scans: Insurers Seek to Rein in Fast-Growing Use of Pricey High-Tech MRIs and CTs. San Francisco Chronicle (April 24).
2 http://bit.ly/15BcqSv
3 http://bit.ly/169JPGI
