WVU Medicine

How WVU Medicine Modernized Image
Exchange with InteleShare™

West Virginia University Medicine (WVU Medicine) modernized imaging exchange by implementing InteleShare™ with native integration into Epic MyChart, helping to eliminate CD-based workflows and embed imaging directly into the patient portal experience. This initiative supported WVU Medicine’s ongoing digital strategy by improving patient access to imaging, reducing administrative burden, and enabling scalable infrastructure capable of handling volumes three times higher than anticipated. InteleShare became an important component within a broader, already advanced digital ecosystem that has earned national recognition from HIMSS, Epic, and CHIME.

Key Outcomes 

• Modernized imaging exchange across a currently 25-hospital health
  system: Replaced CD-based workflows with a centralized, cloud-native
  image exchange platform integrated directly into Epic MyChart,
  embedding imaging into the core digital ecosystem. This will be
  implemented across 8 additional hospitals within the next 24 months.
• Earned national recognition for digital maturity: Following technology
  advancements, including the addition of InteleShare, WVU Medicine
  hospitals qualified for HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 in consecutive years, WVU
  Medicine was named to the 2025 Honor Roll by Epic (for the ninth straight
  year), and received the highest level of Digital Health Most Wired
  distinction from CHIME as a level 10 in both Inpatient and Outpatient
  surveys.
• Absorbed volumes 3x higher than anticipated: The scalable, cloud native architecture supported imaging demand at least three times
  original projections without degrading performance or increasing
  administrative burden.
• Eliminated physical media and hidden administrative costs: Removed
  CD production, shipping, and manual coordination workflows, reducing
  direct expenses and freeing staff from low-value logistical tasks.
• Maximized the value of Epic infrastructure investment: Unlocked
  imaging as part of the digital front door, reinforcing MyChart patient
  portal adoption and expanding the strategic impact of the existing EHR
  platform.

The Challenge  

For WVU Medicine, a rapidly growing health system with over 25 hospitals and specialty centers, every operational decision is evaluated based on how it will impact patient care and its entire fit in the health system. As the largest health system in West Virginia (with additional hospitals in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland), the organization consistently invests in technology that improves access, transparency, and outcomes. This is part of a deliberate strategy to enhance the patient experience at every touchpoint.

Image sharing was one of the lingering processes still held back by legacy
equipment. WVU Medicine was relying on CD-based workflows and disparate image
sharing products, with no ability to put the power in the patients’ hands, to move studies between facilities, providers, and patients. Burning discs, toggling between disparate applications, and managing manual exchanges introduced delays and unnecessary administrative work. For a system focused on delivering answers faster and reducing friction for patients, CDs no longer align with their standards of care.

The issue extended beyond operational inefficiency. Every minute spent managing image logistics was a minute not spent with patients. Clinical and administrative teams wanted to shift their time toward more meaningful patient interaction.

Patients have become more digitally engaged. Increasingly, they expect their health information to be accessible. WVU Medicine wanted to empower patients with autonomy by giving them secure, on-demand access to their own imaging. This allows them to independently share with specialists, seek second opinions, and participate more actively in their care. For an organization committed to staying on the cutting edge, continuing to rely on CDs was no longer acceptable.

The Solution: 

To modernize imaging exchange in a way that directly reinforced its patient-first mission, WVU Medicine selected InteleShare as its enterprise image-sharing platform, with native integration into Epic MyChart.

WVU Medicine sought a solution that would eliminate outdated workflows, reduce administrative friction, and give patients direct, secure access to their imaging. The platform also had to support the complexity of a large, digitally advanced health system.

InteleShare provided a centralized, cloud-native infrastructure for image exchange that automated what had previously been manual. Rather than relying on physical media or ad hoc transfers, imaging could be securely ingested, normalized, routed, and delivered across facilities and into the patient portal as part of a unified digital workflow.

For clinicians and staff, this meant fewer logistical tasks and less time coordinating image transfers. For patients, it meant imaging became part of their digital health record, accessible through a familiar portal and available when they needed it.

The solution also had to be designed to scale. As WVU Medicine imaging volumes continue to grow, InteleShare absorbs increased demand without adding proportional administrative burden.

The volumes are at least three times higher than we originally
anticipated; however, this means it [Intelerad] was more accepted and
patients are successfully using this functionality with a high success
rate.

Charles Barkey, VP of Information Technology at WVU Medicine

Automation, auditability, and cloud-native infrastructure ensured that imaging exchange supported, rather than slowed, the organization’s broader digital transformation strategy.

How It Works 

Once implemented, InteleShare became the centralized hub for imaging exchange across WVU Medicine. Here’s how imaging now moves through the system:

• As soon as a study is completed, images are transferred through secure channels into InteleShare. Built-in DICOM processing and patient data normalization ensure studies are standardized and aligned with the correct patient record.
• Configurable routing rules determine where studies need to go, whether between hospitals, outpatient centers, referring providers, or external partners. Transfers occur digitally, eliminating physical media and manual coordination.
• Through native integration with Epic MyChart, imaging is delivered directly into the patient’s portal where they can access, download, and securely share their studies from the same place they manage appointments, results, and clinical notes.
• Role-based access controls, encrypted transmission, and comprehensive audit trails ensure compliance while maintaining transparency. Imaging access is tracked, monitored, and fully defensible.
• The cloud-native architecture supports high-volume processing without degrading performance. As imaging demand increases, the infrastructure scales without requiring new hardware investments or workflow redesign.

Instead of burning CDs and manually coordinating transfers, imaging now flows automatically, securely, consistently, and in alignment with WVU Medicine’s broader digital ecosystem.

Operational Impact  

Before implementing InteleShare, WVU Medicine faced: 

• Manual coordination of inbound and outbound image requests.
• Reliance on significant CD burning to share imaging between non-affiliated entities and with patients.
• Administrative time spent tracking transfers, troubleshooting delays, and handling exceptions.
• Imaging access existing outside the core patient portal experience.
• Inconsistent turnaround for image access depending on site, request type, or staff workload.
• Operational capacity tied directly to staff availability, limiting scalability as imaging volumes increased.

After implementing InteleShare with native integration into Epic MyChart,
WVU Medicine now has: 

• A centralized, cloud-native platform for automated image ingestion, normalization, and routing.
• Reduced the significant cost and burden of physical CDs and manual transfer coordination.
•  Security controls include role-based access with comprehensive audit trails.
• Digital delivery of imaging directly into the patient’s existing MyChart portal.
• Empowered patients with immediate, secure access to download and share their own imaging.
• An operational model where imaging exchange scales without proportional increases in staffing.

Results  

Since implementing InteleShare in December 2024, WVU Medicine has seen measurable gains across patient engagement, operational efficiency, and enterprise-wide digital maturity.

One of the most visible outcomes has been a significant surge in patient engagement. By delivering imaging directly into Epic MyChart, WVU Medicine transformed imaging from a back-office function into a front-facing digital experience. Patients are actively downloading the MyChart app and logging in to view not only their reports, but their actual images, empowering them to participate more fully in their care.

It has been a much bigger success than we ever anticipated…people are loving the idea of being able to go into their Epic MyChart, launch their report, and see their image

Charles Barkey, VP of Information Technology at WVU Medicine

The elimination of CD-based workflows also delivered meaningful cost savings. Removing physical media reduced expenses related to materials, hardware, and shipping, while eliminating the administrative burden associated with manual coordination and exception management.

In 2025, WVU Medicine’s modernization of imaging exchange through InteleShare contributed in part to its broader digital transformation that earned national recognition for excellence in interoperability, governance, and patient access. HIMSS recognized multiple WVU Medicine hospitals through its Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model Program, which measures clinical outcomes, patient engagement, and clinician use of EHR technology to strengthen organizational performance and health
outcomes across patient populations. Most of the WVU Medicine hospitals received the highest distinction, stage 7.

Epic named WVU Medicine to its highly coveted Honor Roll program for 2025 – 7th time, highlighting organizations that demonstrate advanced EHR utilization and digital integration across clinical workflows.

CHIME honored the system for achieving the highest level of digital health excellence in its Digital Health Most Wired survey, a distinction awarded to organizations that lead in infrastructure, governance, interoperability, and patient access.

Why It Matters 

Modern healthcare is defined by access, transparency, and digital engagement, and imaging has long been the missing piece. Integrating imaging directly into Epic MyChart closes that gap and turns a legacy workflow into a strategic advantage.

Studies show that engaged portal users are 2x more likely to rebook missed appointments, and organizations have reported up to a 53% reduction in no-show rates among active users. Digital record access is also linked to higher treatment adherence, stronger involvement in decision-making, and improved satisfaction.

For health systems, those outcomes translate directly into operational and financial value. Increased engagement drives retention. Retention strengthens lifetime patient value. Reduced no-shows improve scheduling efficiency and revenue predictability. Higher satisfaction scores influence competitive positioning, reimbursement performance, and patient outcomes.

Modernizing imaging exchange also creates scalable infrastructure. Eliminating manual CD workflows and automating routing allows organizations to absorb growing imaging volumes without proportional increases in staffing or overhead.

For organizations that have already invested heavily in Epic infrastructure, unlocking imaging maximizes the value of that investment. In this context, adopting InteleShare is a strategic move toward person-centered, interoperable, and financially sustainable digital healthcare.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Who is WVU Medicine?

2. What is InteleShare?

3. What is Epic MyChart?

4. What challenge did WVU Medicine face with imaging exchange?

5. Can InteleShare scale to support large, multi-hospital health systems?