Browsing: PACS/IT/AI

Across the healthcare industry, MRI units often represent some of the most underleveraged and expensive assets on the balance sheet. While demand for diagnostic imaging grows, many health systems still operate with fragmented scheduling, underutilized scanners, and reactive operational strategies. This isn’t a technology gap – it’s a business optimization gap.

A researcher at a leading pharmaceutical company had spent decades billing clients thousands of dollars per hour for his research judgment. He once believed his most powerful tools were his instincts and a pen. But today, it’s a chat window.

Early in a career as a system leader you are asked to make decisions that seem like a 50/50 bet at best. I was in the process of crafting a corporate imaging data retention guideline for a 19-hospitals system. The question was: “Do we save the CAD overlay box on mammogram studies or not?” I said, “No, let the radiologists see them in the moment but delete them from permanent storage.” What would you have done?

We’ve all had those awkward conversations. The ones where you’re not sure what to say, or the other person seems completely lost. Now, imagine having that same frustrating experience with an AI. That’s where prompt engineering comes in. It’s the art of crafting effective prompts that guide AI models to produce the results you need.

The field of radiology, crucial for diagnosing and treating a vast range of medical conditions, faces a growing challenge: a significant and projected shortage of radiologists. This scarcity threatens patient care, increases workloads for existing professionals, and potentially delays critical diagnoses. 

This may be the right time to apply AI in your healthcare organization. You could be faced with care coordination challenges unlike any other. A new payment structure calls for a new AI-driven workflow.

Large language models (LLM) have the potential to transform health care. But when will this transformation occur? In my experience working in a large health care organization, there’s a clear caution against the use of LLMs for tasks like translation: “Never use AI for translation!”