"As a provider of diagnostic imaging services in nine states, my company has seen the inconsistencies in insurers' utilization efforts. None of those efforts are without hassle for the health care providers striving to offer patient-centered care," says Quam.

The Senate committee's vote on the legislation is scheduled for just after July 4th.


e-Ordering Benefits
In general, EDS permits interconnectivity and interoperability via a plug-and-play module. The ease of use improves workflow, allowing the physician to order appropriate diagnostic testing online decreasing time away from the patient. The EDS provides a data trail to validate with information on a patient's chart. The back end benefit houses a collection of data to learn from. Further, in addition to the test ordered, alternatives, and sometimes more medically appropriate tests, are suggested.

Cowsill gives an example of what he calls soft ROI, how EDS benefits the patient. "Without EDS, a referring physician would schedule a CT for a patient's knee, the patient would take a day off from work to have the test, perhaps a family member would have to drive the patient to the test site, the test would be done, and the results would show that instead of a CT, the test should have been an MRI. Now the new test has to be ordered, and the patient repeats the costly process. With e-Ordering, that should not happen."


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