Despite the vagueness that surrounds meaningful use and imaging requirements in Stage 1, Regional Medical Imaging (RMI), a full-service imaging organization based in Flint, Mich., is moving full-speed ahead on making sure its radiologists are eligible for incentives. 

RMI has selected Merge Healthcare Incorporated, a global corporation dedicated to health IT interoperability solutions, for its imaging interoperability and meaningful use needs.

“Helping visionary organizations like RMI achieve their goals is Merge’s priority,” said Jeff Surges, Merge’s CEO. “As the leading provider of imaging and financial solutions to the radiology market we are committed to driving the effort towards meaningful use for all of our clients.”

RMI will leverage Merge RIS v7.0 to meet meaningful use requirements. Ninety percent of all radiologists are considered eligible professionals to qualify for meaningful use incentives, which means more than $1 billion could be available for the diagnostic imaging community.

Officials said Merge Healthcare is leading the way in helping radiologists discover their meaningful use potential by pursuing certification for Merge RIS v7.0 to support the Stage 1 requirements.

“We selected Merge because we have developed a true partnership,” said Randy Hicks, one of the founding partners of RMI. “Merge enables us to leverage our existing investment while providing complete solutions to qualify for meaningful use and deliver enterprise interoperability. These initiatives add measurable value to our business.”

Based on 13 eligible providers and other incentives, RMI expects to see more than $600,000 in return from its meaningful use initiative alone.

RMI will also use Merge iConnect Access, Merge iConnect Share and Merge iConnect Kiosk to create image interoperability. The iConnect solution suite will enable RMI to share diagnostic quality images across their enterprise, eliminate CDs, enable mobile devices, attract and keep their referral base, and create operational efficiency.