The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (VCUMC) in Richmond has launched new cloud-based technology for sharing radiology imaging and reports, according to DR Systems.

DR Systems, a provider of imaging and information management systems, announced on Tuesday the Medical Center's use of the company's trademarked "eMix" cloud-based technology.

VCUMC is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in central Virginia, and it provides services to emergency transfers from other medical facilities in which timely treatment is a very high priority. According to DR Systems, eMix is helping to improve clinical care at VCUMC by replacing the transfer of radiology images and reports on CDs, a slow, labor-intensive process that sometimes fails technologically.

"eMix allows radiologists to interpret imaging studies of transfer patients prior to their arrival at our hospital," said Ann S. Fulcher, MD, a professor and chair of the Department of Radiology at VCUMC. "In addition, it avoids the inherent problems in dealing with radiology images and reports on CDs."

According to DR Systems, the medical center is currently receiving radiology images and reports from four medical organizations, including Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill, Va.; eHealth Global Technologies, Inc. in Rochester, N.Y.; Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston, Va.; and Rappahannock General Hospital in Kilmarnock, Va.

eMix, which stands for Electronic Medical Information Exchange, enables secure sharing of images and reports among disparate institutions and physicians via the Internet, according to a DR Systems statement. As a vendor-neutral based technology, eMix makes possible the near-instantaneous transfer of imaging and other medical data, even between information technology (IT) systems that don't normally "talk to each other."

Bruce Mathern, MD, a VCUMC neurosurgeon said the ability to have images available before a transfer patient arrives at the hospital allows him to plan and prepare for the patient's treatment and deliver care more quickly.