Mollura Daniel J, Carrino John A, Matuszak Diane L, Mnatsakanyan Zaruhi R, Eng John, Cutchis Protagoras, Babin Steven M, Sniegoski Carol, Lombardo Joseph S
Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
J Am Coll Radiol. 2008 Mar;5(3):174-81. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2007.08.020.
Radiology and public health have an emerging opportunity to collaborate, in which radiology's vast supply of imaging data can be integrated into public health information systems for epidemiologic assessments and responses to population health problems. Fueling the linkage of radiology and public health include (i) the transition from analog film to digital formats, enabling flexible use of radiologic data; (ii) radiology's role in imaging across nearly all medical and surgical subspecialties, which establishes a foundation for a consolidated and uniform database of images and reports for public health use; and (iii) the use of radiologic data to characterize disease patterns in a population occupying a geographic area at one time and to characterize disease progression over time via follow-up examinations. The backbone for this integration is through informatics projects such as Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms and RadLex constructing terminology libraries and ontologies, as well as algorithms integrating data from the electronic health record and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine Structured Reporting. Radiology's role in public health is being tested in disease surveillance systems for outbreak detection and bioterrorism, such as the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics. Challenges for radiologic public health informatics include refining the systems and user interfaces, adhering to privacy regulations, and strengthening collaborative relations among stakeholders, including radiologists and public health officials. Linking radiology with public health, radiologic public health informatics is a promising avenue through which radiology can contribute to public health decision making and health policy.
放射学与公共卫生领域正迎来一个新的合作契机，即放射学所拥有的大量影像数据可被整合到公共卫生信息系统中，用于流行病学评估以及应对人群健康问题。推动放射学与公共卫生建立联系的因素包括：（i）从模拟胶片向数字格式的转变，使得放射学数据能被灵活使用；（ii）放射学在几乎所有医学和外科学亚专业的成像中所发挥的作用，这为建立一个供公共卫生使用的统一的影像和报告综合数据库奠定了基础；（iii）利用放射学数据来描绘某一时期居住在某一地理区域内人群的疾病模式，并通过随访检查来描绘疾病随时间的进展情况。这种整合的基础是通过诸如医学临床术语系统命名法和放射学术语词典等信息学项目来构建术语库和本体，以及通过算法整合来自电子健康记录和医学数字成像与通信结构化报告的数据。放射学在公共卫生中的作用正在疾病监测系统中接受检验，以用于疾病爆发检测和生物恐怖主义监测，例如社区疫情早期预警电子监测系统。放射学公共卫生信息学面临的挑战包括完善系统和用户界面、遵守隐私法规以及加强包括放射科医生和公共卫生官员在内的利益相关者之间的合作关系。将放射学与公共卫生联系起来，放射学公共卫生信息学是一条充满前景的途径，通过它放射学能够为公共卫生决策和卫生政策做出贡献。
