CHICAGO, Oct. 4, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merge Healthcare (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, announced today the development of an Advisory Board to share clinical expertise and provide consultation on new models of care and emerging trends focused on the patient-centric experience.
The Merge Advisory Board will focus on the fact that diagnostic images make up a significant and critical part of the diagnostic process, yet today, the exchange and sharing of these images is inefficient. This inefficiency fragments the healthcare process which contributes to delays in care and skyrocketing costs. The Merge Advisory Board will also address patient safety and quality of care through, among other things, focusing on the fact that patients' radiation exposures has doubled over the past 20 years and developing solutions that reduce such exposure.
Consider the realities of diagnostic imaging:
- Healthcare organizations generate nearly 600 million diagnostic imaging procedures annually;
- One CT scan of the abdomen exposes a patient to the same amount of radiation as approximately 400 chest x-rays; and,
- $100 billion of annual healthcare costs are related to diagnostic imaging tests – but an estimated 35% ($35 billion) represents unnecessary costs for US patients and insurance providers.
The Merge Advisory Board is led by Dr. Cheryl Whitaker, Merge's Chief Medical Officer; co-chaired by Dr. Paul Chang, Professor of Radiology and Vice Chair, Radiology Informatics at the University of Chicago Medical Center; and, Dr. Keith Dreyer, Vice Chairman of Radiology Informatics at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"We are extremely fortunate to have experts from these prestigious organizations advising the Merge team," said Jeff Surges, Chief Executive Officer of Merge Healthcare. "We look forward to the clinical dialogue that will develop, and to incorporating their knowledge and expertise into the image interoperability solutions we provide to clients and the healthcare marketplace."
"Merge believes in a patient-centric healthcare experience, and empowering physicians, patients and providers to proactively manage this healthcare," said Dr. Cheryl Whitaker, Chief Medical Officer at Merge Healthcare. "I look forward to working with this distinguished group of leaders to ensure we continue to develop solutions that simplify and improve the care process."
The Merge Advisory Board consists of the following imaging and healthcare experts:
| Dr. William Boonn |
| Chief of 3D and Advanced Imaging Lab |
| Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania |
| John A. Carrino, MD, MPH, PhD |
| Associate Professor of Radiology and Orthopaedic Surgery |
| Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
| Dr. Paul Chang |
| Professor of Radiology |
| Vice Chair, Radiology Informatics |
| University of Chicago Medical Center |
| Dr. Keith Dreyer, MD, PhD |
| Vice Chairman of Radiology Informatics |
| Massachusetts General Hospital |
| David Mendelson, MD |
| Chief of Clinical Informatics MSMC |
| Professor of Radiology |
| The Mount Sinai Medical Center |
| Eliot Siegel, MD |
| Chief of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine |
| Veterans Affairs Maryland Healthcare System |
| Timothy Zoph |
| Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Administration |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital |
About Merge Healthcare
Merge Healthcare is a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions. Merge solutions facilitate the sharing of images to create a more effective and efficient electronic healthcare experience for patients and physicians. Merge provides enterprise imaging solutions for radiology, cardiology, orthopaedics and eye care; a suite of products for clinical trials; software for financial and pre-surgical management, and applications that fuel the largest modality vendors in the world. Merge's products have been used by healthcare providers, vendors and researchers worldwide to improve patient care for more than 20 years. Additional information can be found at www.merge.com.
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