PITTSBURGH — A patient-facing imaging access link within MyChart could benefit both patients and radiologists while also complying with the Cures Act, according to research presented June 10 at the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) annual meeting.
This access link reduced manual release of information workload, improved workflow efficiency, and lowered institutional costs in a study presented by Thangalakshmi Sivathapandi, MD, from Emory University in Atlanta.
“This demonstrates how standardized imaging exchange enhances patient engagement and supports sustainable radiology operations,” Sivathapandi said.
Thangalakshmi Sivathapandi, MD, presents her team’s findings showing how an imaging access link embedded within MyChart can lessen workloads for radiologists while also allowing for timely access to imaging reports for patients.
Access and exchange of medical images continue to be challenging, with patients often looking to manual release of information processes to obtain their imaging studies. This, in turn, creates administrative burden, access delays, and cost increases.
Radiology departments are also bound by the 21st Century Cures Act to deliver timely electronic patient access to health information, including images. This creates pressure for radiologists to make sure they deliver imaging access that is compliant and patient-centered.
Prior studies suggest that patients prefer direct and immediate access to their imaging reports and images, with up to 92% reporting having anxiety while waiting for results.
“Patients feel more informed and empowered in their care, and it [report access] may also reduce unnecessary repeat imaging exams,” Sivathapandi said, adding that this could also reduce costs.
She and colleagues hypothesized that adding a link to patients’ MyChart Imaging Results page could increase self-service access to patients. The link allows patients to directly view and download their imaging studies on demand.
The researchers also studied whether patient adoption of this link system can be sustained over time via image exchange enabled by bidirectional query-retrieve, a DICOM service that can be used by one device to find and then retrieve images from another device.
The team reviewed access and release of information request volumes for six months before and after implementation of these approaches.
Sivathapandi reported that monthly MyChart portal activations since October 2024 increased from around 18,000 to between 41,000 and 44,000 activations by August 2025. Patient-initiated image requests also decreased by 40% to 50% (from 1,527 requests to 728-932 per month) during the study period.
Meanwhile, query-retrieve–based image exchange increased from 55 imaging studies to 180 studies per month with sustained increases, Sivathapandi said. She added that legal requests remained stable during the study period.
Sivathapandi highlighted the success of the workflow tool, reiterating that its rapid adoption led to reduced manual workloads from release of information requests, improving efficiency. This approach toward imaging access is also compliant with the Cures Act, she added.
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