In neurosurgery, there is no such thing as a small delay.
A patient presenting with rapidly evolving neurological symptoms doesn't have the luxury of waiting for imaging files to be located, transferred, or reconciled across systems. Every minute spent chasing down a scan is a minute not spent making a decision that could change the course of someone's care. That reality is what makes Dr. Mark Attiah's work at UNC Health such a clear illustration of what imaging access at the time of care is really for; not convenience, but clinical infrastructure that a modern health system can't operate without.
Dr. Attiah specializes in spine surgery and peripheral nerve procedures at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, seeing up to 20 patients a day, with high-volume being more than that. His work depends on reviewing MRIs, CTs, EOS imaging, and quantitative spine balance data, and discussing findings with patients so they leave their consultation with a clear understanding of what their imaging reveals and what it means for their treatment options.
Before instant, universal access to imaging, clinicians often lacked a complete picture of a patient's condition during the visit. Patients were asked to return simply because key imaging studies were unavailable for review. For deformity surgery, where treatment planning requires the ability to compare and analyze imaging data across multiple modalities, these delays and fragmented workflows posed a significant challenge.
None of that friction had anything to do with the quality of the clinical decision-making. It was simply the cost of imaging that wasn't where it needed to be.
When imaging becomes part of the conversation
With the Hyland NilRead universal viewer, part of Hyland’s Enterprise Medical Imaging suite of products, Dr. Attiah can pull up any imaging study instantly, directly in the exam room. During one appointment, he manipulated MRI images in real time to help plan both a spine and a peripheral nerve intervention while the patient watched. The patient later commented on how clear the visuals made the conversation.
That is the shift I think is easy to underestimate. Having imaging available during the consultation gives clinicians and patients a shared reference point to discuss the findings and what they mean for treatment. It helps patients understand their options, ask informed questions, and take an active role in decisions about their care. That shared understanding is an important foundation for trust.
NilRead also supports Dr. Attiah's collaboration with radiologists, OR staff, trauma teams, and nurse practitioners, and provides 24/7 remote access that keeps care moving during urgent or after-hours consults. For a specialty where speed and clarity are inseparable, that continuity isn't a nice-to-have; it's the baseline expectation.
The numbers behind the workflow
The clinical value of imaging during the patient’s visit is easy to describe in the exam room, but it also shows up clearly on a spreadsheet. For Dr. Attiah at UNC Health, these efficiencies, largely driven by the reduction in follow-up visits caused by unavailable imaging, have contributed to an estimated $405,000 in annual savings by reducing wasted clinician time based on just his time alone.
That figure matters because it reframes the conversation. Imaging review isn't just a clinical convenience that happens to also save money, but a technology that puts operational efficiency and quality of care on equal footing viewed from two angles. Faster access reduces unnecessary return visits. Fewer return visits means better clinic pacing. Better clinic pacing means less administrative overhead spent on rescheduling and more time spent on the thing that actually matters: the patient in the room.
Why this matters beyond one clinic
Dr. Attiah's experience reflects something we're seeing across contemporary neurosurgical and specialty care broadly; that interoperability and real-time access to imaging aren't emerging trends. They are becoming the baseline standard for what "good care" looks like. Health systems that still require clinicians to reconcile imaging across disconnected systems aren't just accepting inefficiency; they are accepting avoidable delays in decisions that, in neurosurgery, can carry real clinical consequences.
As Dr. Attiah puts it, his philosophy is to "only operate when it's absolutely necessary,” using the safest, least invasive approach possible. Ready access to imaging helps him assess those options and discuss them with patients. Our role at Hyland is to help clinicians access the information they need to make informed decisions and move care forward.
Read more about Dr. Attiah’s experience at Hyland.com.
Learn more about how Hyland's enterprise imaging solutions support point-of-care decision-making, interdisciplinary collaboration, and surgical planning at Hyland.com.