lifeIMAGE, a medical image exchange platform that enables imaging data interoperability across healthcare networks, providers, patients and technology systems, has received a $5 million strategic investment from Zaffre Investments, LLC, the investment arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). As part of the investment, Zaffre Vice President, Steven J. Fox, will serve as board observer at lifeIMAGE, and will help identify opportunities to connect providers and patients in the BCBSMA network with their imaging studies via lifeIMAGE. He is a longtime champion and advocate of interoperable health IT and brings a strong payer and industry knowledge to lifeIMAGE.
lifeIMAGE Platform Overview
lifeIMAGE is an interoperable medical image sharing network that helps healthcare providers access their patients’ imaging records, regardless of where exams are performed or stored. This leads to faster, higher quality care, and lower rates of harmful and costly repeat testing. The network supports large implementations at academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, certified trauma centers, oncology centers of excellence and imaging providers by combining local network image sharing with a medical-grade secure cloud.
This allows multidisciplinary care teams to more easily access their patients’ imaging records, as well as share them with doctors and specialists outside a health system’s network. The platform is typically leveraged by clinicians in image-intensive disciplines such as orthopedics, neurology, cardiology, oncology, pulmonology, surgery, pediatrics, critical care, radiology and others. Currently, their network has been used by more than 120 multi-site health systems across the country to exchange more than 1.5 billion exams from 90 countries, including the leading providers in Massachusetts
“Health providers and health plans are both seeing significant value associated with image sharing,” said Hamid Tabatabaie, lifeIMAGE CEO and co-founder. “Physicians need to be made aware of when their patients’ imaging tests become available, even when they are performed outside their health system. We continue to build out and enhance this intelligent, interoperable health data network and are excited to expand our strategic partnerships with industry leaders who share in our vision.”
Recent Customer Momentum
New organizations on the lifeIMAGE customer roster include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles), Baptist Health Jacksonville (FL), Children’s Hospital of Orange County, City of Hope Cancer Center (Duarte, CA), Emory Healthcare (Atlanta), Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (Wauwatosa), North Mississippi Medical Center (Tupelo) and Valley Children’s Hospital (Madera, CA).
Additionally, numerous existing customers recently expanded their lifeIMAGE implementations, such as Tufts Medical Center (Boston) and University Health System (San Antonio, Texas), with some including EHR integrations that make medical imaging studies viewable from inside the digital patient record. In total, nearly 450 hospitals now use lifeIMAGE for medical imaging across their campuses. Another 700 hospitals have joined the network to exchange those images with other members, for a combined total that exceeds 1,100, or nearly one in five registered U.S. hospitals. The 90,000 lifeIMAGE clinical users represent all 50 U.S. states and more than 90 countries. In total, healthcare providers so far have shared more than two billion medical images through the lifeIMAGE network.
This strategic investment follows the $17.5M round of financing lifeIMAGE received in May, which was led by Cambia Health Solutions, a family of health solutions companies and health insurance plans based in the Pacific Northwest, and supported by existing investors Cardinal Partners, Galen Partners and Long River Ventures, among others.
