- To see how Internet-standard communication features can improve a radiologist's workflow and the overall process of care

- To learn how image viewing software can be modified to seamlessly support the communication elements of this workflow

The increasing importance of continuity of care as well as medical imaging as a standard diagnostic technique has brought radiology from a behind-the-scenes specialization to a crucial, centralized role among patients, primary care, and specialists. To facilitate possible new paradigms of interaction among these key participants in the health care process, a standard, DICOM-compliant image viewer has been extended with integrated, Internet-ready communication services. With these services, a radiologist can securely e-mail key images and annotations to anyone without requiring additional overhead such as a local DICOM viewer or broadband connection. These functions are available directly from the image viewer, resulting in near-immediate turnaround times and facilitating time-sensitive applications such as wet reads and focused, superspecialist consults.