The Fast, Easy Way to Access and Share Medical Images

Have you had a medical image such as an X-ray, a mammogram, a CT scan, an ultrasound, or an MRI taken recently? With an estimated 600 million medical images processed each year to diagnose and/or treat diseases and injuries, chances are good that you—or a friend or family member—have.

Why is Medical Imaging Important, and What Does It Do?

When you go to your appointment, your medical imaging is performed by radiographers, also called medical imaging technologists or radiology technologists. The images they take are reviewed by radiologists, specialized doctors who determine the diagnosis and communicate it with the patient and the physician who ordered the test.

Depending on the equipment used, medical imaging can reveal:

• Tumors, cancer, fibroids, and cysts
• Blockages
• Brain injuries, stroke, and headache causes
• Scar tissue and complications
• Broken bones or misalignment of bones (such as jaw bones) and other musculoskeletal conditions
• Blood clots
• Causes of pain
• Kidney stones
• Infection
• Sprains, strains, and tendon and ligament tears
• Nerve damage
• Arthritis, and more

After the diagnosis, the radiologist may use radiation or imaging-guided procedures to treat you. And, medical imaging is also used to keep track of recovery and healing.

It’s clear that medical imaging is critical for diagnosis, treatment, and the best patient outcomes for numerous health challenges. But, unfortunately, patients like you are often responsible for transporting CDs or cumbersome, potentially lesser-quality images back and forth to appointments and between doctors. And you’re often responsible for storing them, too. So, at North Carolina Specialty Hospital, we’ve looked for ways to make it easier for our patients to recover and thrive without having the burden of worrying about health care images, and we’re excited to share our solution: PocketHealth.

Introducing PocketHealth at North Carolina Specialty Hospital

You may have seen signs about PocketHealth around NCSH and wondered what it was—and if it had anything to do with you.

PocketHealth is an easy-to-use, secure electronic image-sharing platform that instantly lets NCSH patients and physicians share records online. You’ll never have to make a trip to pick up a CD of X-ray images when you can share diagnostic images with anyone in your circle of care with a tap of your finger.

PocketHealth uses the latest technology, but the good news is that you don’t have to be a tech wizard to use it. All you need is an email address to enroll. Then, once you’ve signed up for PocketHealth, you can:

• Permanently store and access your records via a secure, private page
• Share images immediately, whenever and wherever they’re needed
• Stop waiting for CDs to be burned
• Never worry about how to access medical records of images

After you’re signed up for PocketHealth, your providers will:

• See uncompressed images in full diagnostic quality (unlike on a CD) and use tools to manipulate images
• Plan better consultations by accessing images prior to your appointment instead of waiting to see images when you arrive

With PocketHealth, the only thing on which you and your providers have to concentrate is your treatment. And that’s the way it should be.

PocketHealth has already been helping more than 500 clinics and hospitals in the United States and Canada. Since it became available here in October, our NCSH patients and physicians have been eager to sign up to experience the benefits of reduced stress, better time management, and faster, more effective diagnostic planning. It’s just one more example of our long-time commitment to bringing our community the latest innovations and the best care and service possible.

Questions about PocketHealth? Find out more here about how PocketHealth and NCSH will be there for you whenever you need medical imaging. And remember to make the NCSH Radiology Department your first stop when you need medical images.