Tag: SIIM

Reporting Rules at SIIM 2025

Posted on by Brian Casey

The annual meeting of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine offered a great opportunity to take stock of the imaging IT segment. At SIIM 2025, radiology reporting solutions – many powered by AI – were among the most exciting technologies under discussion at Portland’s Oregon Convention Center. 

As we mentioned in our video highlights roundup, attendance seemed a bit lighter at SIIM 2025, perhaps due to the Portland location and timing before a holiday weekend. 

  • But the number of vendors exhibiting at SIIM 2025 cracked 100 for the first time in years, underscoring the meeting’s importance as well as the overall growth of the imaging IT segment as the rise of AI spurs startup creation.

Every SIIM conference provides a fascinating early look at the trends and technologies that will shape radiology’s future, and this year’s meeting was no exception … 

  • Radiology Reporting Rules. The report is the radiologist’s final product, and SIIM 2025 presentations highlighted how important it is to improve this process, especially with AI. An entire track on May 21 was devoted to AI-enhanced reporting solutions, and on the exhibit floor companies showed AI-enhanced solutions that interpret radiologist findings and create structured reports from them. 
  • Questions about AI Adoption. As with past SIIM conferences, questions persist about the pace of AI adoption as well as the FDA’s regulatory direction since the Trump Administration took over. In SIIM 2025’s keynote address, health policy expert Rohini Kosoglu urged SIIM and the radiology community to take a more active role in self-regulation of AI in the absence of stronger direction from the federal government. 
  • Cloud Adoption Gains Steam. There are no such doubts about cloud-based image management, as providers are getting over past concerns about the technology. One enterprise image management vendor told The Imaging Wire that 100% of their new system orders included some form of cloud component. On the other hand, imaging IT expert Herman Oosterwijk sees some imaging sites having “second thoughts” about cloud hosting. 

The Takeaway

The growing prominence of radiology reporting software at SIIM 2025 illustrates the heightened interest in imaging IT solutions that enhance radiologist productivity rather than assist them with interpreting images – a job many feel they can do well enough on their own. 

Top 4 Trends from SIIM 2024

Posted on by Brian Casey

SIIM 2024 concluded this weekend, and what a meeting it was. The radiology industry’s premier imaging IT show returned to National Harbor, MD, for the first time since 2018, where the Biosphere-like environment of the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center offered a respite from the muggy weather outside. 

SIIM is always a great place to check in on new imaging IT technologies like PACS, AI, and enterprise imaging, and hot topics at SIIM 2024 included…  

  • AI Needs to Get Real (World): Research studies showing AI’s value are fine, but developers need to show that AI works in real-world settings before wider adoption will occur. Fortunately that’s started with landmark studies published recently for use cases like breast and osteoporosis screening. Meanwhile, scuttlebutt on the SIIM 2024 exhibit floor reinforced that start-ups are navigating an ugly funding environment, and many industry observers are predicting a wave of AI consolidation. 
  • Outlook Clears for the Cloud: Cloud-based imaging has struggled to catch on for years, but that’s starting to change as healthcare providers warm to the concept of letting third parties oversee their patient data. And there are signs that imaging IT vendors that were quick to develop cloud-based versions of their PACS software are reaping the rewards.
  • Enterprise Imaging Grows Up: This year’s meeting marked the 10-year anniversary of enterprise imaging, as dated from the start of the SIIM-HIMSS collaboration in 2014. The anniversary is a milestone worth observing, but it also raises questions about what the next 10 years will look like, and how AI and data from other -ologies will be integrated into enterprise networks. 
  • Cybersecurity Takes Priority: Several high-profile cybersecurity breaches at healthcare vendors and providers in the last year highlight that not enough is being done to keep patient data secure. Will migrating to the cloud help? Only time will tell.

The Takeaway

SIIM’s collegiality and coziness has always been a selling point for the meeting, even back in the days when it was known as SCAR. This year didn’t disappoint, as deals got done and relationships were built at the Gaylord National.  

Be sure to visit our YouTube channel and LinkedIn page to view our video interviews from the floor of the meeting – it was great seeing you all at the show!

Better Together at SIIM

Posted on by Brian Casey

Humans have a deep-seated need for interpersonal contact, and understanding that need should guide not only how we structure our work relationships in the post-COVID era, but also our development and deployment of new technologies like AI in radiology. 

That’s according to James Whitfill, MD, who gave Thursday’s opening address at SIIM 2023. Whitfill’s talk – which was followed by a raucous audience participation exercise – was a ringing demonstration that in-person meetings like SIIM still have relevance despite the proliferation of Zoom calls and remote work. 

Whitfill, chief transformation officer at HonorHealth in Arizona and an internist at the University of Arizona, was chair of the SIIM board in 2020 when the society made the difficult decision to move its annual meeting to be fully online during the pandemic.

The experience led Whitfill to ponder whether technology designed to help us work and collaborate virtually was an adequate substitute for in-person interaction. Unfortunately, the research suggests otherwise: 

  • Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effect that the isolation of the COVID pandemic has had on adolescent mental health and academic performance 
  • Loneliness can also have a negative effect on physical well-being, with a recent U.S. Surgeon General’s report finding that prolonged isolation is the health equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day
  • Peer-reviewed studies have shown that people working in in-person collaborative environments are about 10% more productive and creative than those working virtually. 

Whitfill’s talk was especially on-point given recent research indicating that workers across different industries who used AI were more lonely than those who didn’t, a phenomenon that shouldn’t be ignored by those planning radiology’s AI-based future. 

That said, virtual technologies can still play a role in making access to information more equitable. Whitfill noted that some 160 people were following the SIIM proceedings entirely online, and they otherwise would not have been able to benefit from the meeting’s content.

To drive the point home, Whitfill then had audience members participate in a team-based Rochambeau competition that sent peals of laughter ringing through Austin Convention Center.  

The Takeaway
Whitfill’s point was underscored repeatedly by SIIM 2023 attendees, who reiterated the value of interpersonal connections and networking at the conference. It’s ironic that a meeting devoted at least in part to intelligence that’s artificial has made us better appreciate relationships that are real.

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