Information technology is and will remain a ubiquitous element in medical imaging informatics and a necessity in patient care. The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2008 annual meeting, May 15-18, in Seattle, brought hundreds of medical imaging informatics and clinical professionals together with the purpose of improving disease diagnosis, treatment and monitoring through the domain's rapidly advancing technology and applications.

A pioneer in his field, Alexander R. Margulis Distinguished Professor of Radiology Professor Ronald Arenson from the University of California, San Francisco, not only built bridges but paved paths for many in attendance during his keynote presentation. One of the main founders of the Radiology Information System Consortium and among the original inductees in the college of SIIM/SCAR Fellows, Professor Arenson took attendees through the trials and tribulations that many of us face throughout today's Imaging Informatics profession. "We have come a long way since the ENIAC [electronic numerical integrator and computer]," he says.

Regardless of technological advancements, integration still poses a threat to clinical workflow. In order for radiologists to provide optimal patient care it is imperative for healthcare communication systems to provide and pass vital patient information at the point of care. However, we ourselves "fail to communicate the importance of the problem; we need to demand IHE standard profile and compliance," he adds.

Developing robust communication in healthcare is an ongoing effort. The delay between the industry implementation of IHE standards within the current workflow has become a significant problem in radiological imaging. Patient security makes the issue of complex integration and interaction ever more acute. We take patients' security and rights very seriously. Though HIPPA has been enacted to protect patients, vital information is still falling into the wrong hands and it is becoming more and more difficult to deliver it to the right ones.

Initially envisioned as a modality for the radiology community, medical imaging informatics is affecting the entire spectrum of healthcare. "Yes we have come a long way," states Arenson, "but we still have a ways to go."