Study Sharing

Overview

Sharing diagnostic imaging between organizations is often harder than it should be. DICOM files are large, viewers don’t always talk to each other, records arrive by fax or CD, and consent workflows add friction at every step. Avara Connect is built to remove that friction — especially for DICOM imaging, which opens directly in the integrated Avara Diagnostic DICOM Viewer with no extra software to install.

From Connect, you can share:

• DICOM studies — Uploaded imaging that embeds seamlessly into the viewer
• Documents — Reports, notes, and other files without imaging
• Appointments — Patient-visible appointment information shared between Connect contacts

Each share uses the same access controls, audit trail, and consent workflow whether you are sending imaging, documents, or a full appointment package.

Sharing DICOM Imaging

Any DICOM you have uploaded to your organization can be shared with an approved Connect contact in a few clicks. The recipient opens the study in the Avara Diagnostic DICOM Viewer — a high-performance, web-based viewer built directly into the platform. There are no desktop installs, VPN clients, or third-party viewer licenses to manage.

Because the viewer is native to Avara, shared studies render with the same tools and experience your team already uses internally: fast loading, MPR, annotations, and the full diagnostic workflow you expect from a modern web viewer.

Viewer FDA Status

The Avara Diagnostic DICOM Viewer embedded in Connect is the same FDA-cleared product as the standalone Avara Viewer. It holds 510(k) clearance under K262120 as a software-only Medical Image Management and Processing System.

That clearance covers display, processing, reading, reporting, communication, distribution, storage, and archival of medical data available as DICOM — including mammographic images — to support physicians in diagnosis. When a Connect contact opens a shared study, they are viewing that imaging in a cleared diagnostic viewer, not a general-purpose image preview.

For primary mammographic diagnosis, only uncompressed or non-lossy compressed images may be used.

The Instructions for Use (IFU) for the Avara Viewer — including intended use, contraindications, warnings, and operational guidance — are available here. The electronic device label is available here.

Sharing Documents

Not every exchange requires imaging. You can share documents only — clinical reports, visit summaries, referral attachments, or payer documentation — without attaching a DICOM study. Document shares follow the same Connect access and consent rules as imaging shares.

Sharing Appointments

Organizations on the Clinical Platform can share appointments directly with Connect contacts. Connect-only customers can receive those shared appointments — and, through onward sharing, pass appointment information along to other providers in the patient’s care network using the same continuity of care or patient consent workflow.

When an appointment is shared, the recipient receives everything the patient can see — not the sender’s full internal chart.

Included in an appointment share:

• Patient-visible documents
• Appointment intake forms
• Radiology report (when ready)
• DICOM images (when ready)
• Billing events

Not included:

• Clinic-only internal documents
• Chart notes and other staff-facing clinical documentation

This boundary keeps the receiving provider informed for continuity of care while protecting internal documentation that was not intended for external release.

Continuity of Care vs. Patient Consent

Before each share, you choose whether access is granted via continuity of care or patient consent. Connect applies the right workflow automatically based on your selection.

When patient consent is required, Connect handles the entire authorization process for you — the patient receives an email with a one-time link to approve or reject the release, including federally extra-protected categories where applicable. Once signed, the recipient is granted access with no additional steps on your end.

Onward Sharing

If you receive a study, appointment, or set of documents from one of your patient’s providers, you can share that information onward to another healthcare organization using the same continuity of care or patient consent workflow.

Every share forms an auditable chain of access. Any organization in that chain can revoke access for all providers downstream — cutting off everyone who received the information through that share path. This keeps access controls and audit integrity intact when a disclosure should no longer stand.

Referral Appointments and Report Notifications

When a Clinical Platform customer books a patient from a referral you sent, that appointment is automatically shared with your organization under continuity of care — no manual share step required.

Once the radiology report is finalized, the referring provider is notified by email, so you can stay on top of results without polling the receiving organization or chasing updates through phone and fax.

Revoking Access

You can revoke access to any shared study, document, or appointment at any time. Revocation applies immediately for future access. If you revoke as part of an onward-sharing chain, downstream recipients lose access as well.

See Continuity of Care for more on revocation behavior.