The Future — Some Challenges to Consider

My journey in imaging began in the early 2000s and over the course of that time I have had the opportunity to work with and for many different types of organizations, which has meant observing from various perspectives the ongoing shifts in our industry. WithRSNAupon us after going virtual last year, I have been intrigued by the chance to get caught up on the latest trends in diagnostic imaging practice, innovations in the technology space, and of course friends and acquaintances I haven’t seen since 2019. Some of the biggest factors that could impact our future, however, are not front and center at RSNA. But, I believe they need to be addressed sooner than later.

Where Are the Youth?

对于我们大多数人来说，这将是两年前在行业活动中直播的。由于进入岗位较少的医学影像专业人员的老龄化和较年轻的劳动者，预计此次会议的人口年龄将比2019年增加2岁。在成像技术和模态领域尤其如此。我们没有经历大量新人才的涌入，这当然是有原因的。我们正在争夺被社交媒体、创业公司和视频游戏公司吸引的科技和计算机科学毕业生。但我认为有必要重新投资外联项目，为那些对真正有变化和意义的行业感兴趣的学生搭建桥梁。将生命投入到与改善结果、患者体验甚至拯救现实生命直接相关的技术和创新中，是有一些特别之处的。

Are We That Different?

As the industry accelerates due to shifts in delivery models, mergers and acquisitions, and technology innovation, we must address some of our legacy thought processes. When I entered healthcare, I was told to prepare for working in an industry that sees itself as entirely different than every other industry. We struggle with simply sharing and adopting workflow and implementation models from other organizations within healthcare. That resistance is even greater when there are ideas and models brought to healthcare from outside the industry. There are, however, some very critical forces changing how we provide, pay for, and support healthcare that require we see where others have realized success with similar forces.

Everyone is aware that the cost model for healthcare and its continued expansion of the GNP is unsustainable. Simply put, we must figure out how to do more with less. This problem statement has been a part of open market systems for as long as there has been free enterprise. We’ve observed the models adopted by finance, retail, manufacturing and others. While there are certainly both large and small differences, healthcare must move toward a learning model that takes proven ideas, contextualizes them within the healthcare space, and acts to adopt and mature these.

Where Are the Patients?

We have, for years, lamented the lack of customer engagement in technology advances. Many argue that vendors design and innovate based on product strategies more than on problem statements. It is technology focused and not clinician or provider focused. I would argue we struggle along with our narrative toward improvement by making the same mistake. There is almost no dialogue that would not be improved by engaging actual patients. Consider patient monitoring and instrumentation — what is their experience? Consider image and medical record sharing — what is their experience? Consider payment and payer concerns — what is their experience? Consider thevalue of AIand where it should be applied to improve the entire care continuum — what is their experience?

我们需要让病人参与到护理接触或护理后调查之外。让我们邀请他们加入我们的队伍，用他们独特的、批判性的观点。

I’m excited for 2022 and beyond for healthcare. We have many hurdles and obstacles to overcome. We also have some of the most dedicated and intelligent people from clinician to administration to technology. There is far to go, but together we can achieve great things.

Jef Williamsis managingpartner forParagon ConsultingPartners LLC, a Sacramento, Calif., based healthcare IT consulting group.