DIAM - assessing radiology IT maturity for hospitals and imaging centres
The Digital Imaging Adoption Model (DIAM), launched at ECR 2016, was jointly developed by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Europe and the European Society of Radiology (ESR) to support organisations in planning and implementing imaging IT.
The model is the first of its kind worldwide and comprises ten focus areas essential to the digitisation in imaging IT. These areas include patient engagement, personalised medicine and clinical documentation, amongst others.
Similar to the HIMSS Analytics EMR and Continuity of Care Adoption Models, DIAM has 8 stages, with Stage 0 indicating low maturity and Stage 7 representing advanced maturity. One significant difference is that the highest three stages in DIAM reflect specialised branches that can be achieved separately.
Organisations will need to master at least one of these for Stage 5, two of them for Stage 6, and all three for Stage 7.
Participants complete a survey that gathers information on the current imaging IT environment at their institution. The DIAM survey enables institutions to utilise a structured approach for assessing imaging IT infrastructure.
Organisations participating in the DIAM online assessment will receive a report that will support the organisation in recognising gaps and developing IT strategies. The report also serves as a reliable benchmarking source for radiology departments or imaging centres.
As of October 2016, 13 radiological centres have been involved in the DIAM evaluation during the pilot phase and the model is now being rolled out across Europe and beyond.
