Advanced medical imaging systems are changing the way hospitals and radiology clinics operate and provide care. The Medical Imaging Talk Blog spoke with the authors of Digital Radiography and PACS, Christi E. Carter and Beth L. Veale, to better understand the affects of radiology Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) on radiologists, physicians, patients and even medical students. Discover best practice advice for implementing a PACS, how today’s medical students are learning about medical imaging and what the future may hold.
Medical Imaging Blog
Picture Archiving and Communication System
Q&A: Authors of Acclaimed PACS Book Discuss Radiology PACS Advancements
PACS Implementation Saves Alabama Hospital $500,000 Annually
When Southeast Alabama Medical Center decided to implement a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), the 400-bed facility was no stranger to advanced healthcare technology. In the several years leading up to the PACS implementation, hospital leadership had embraced information technology and successfully implemented several McKesson clinical solutions. The next step was to create an enterprise clinical image repository that could grow with the medical center.
Watch this video to learn how the organization implemented PACS stations in all OR and ER suites to streamline communication between radiologists and other personnel. Hear from Southwest Alabama Medical Center administrators, including PACS Administrator Scott Griffin and CFO/CIO Derek Miller, on how the PACS implementation has helped them achieve:
How PACS Facilitates Communication Within the Radiology Workflow
Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) can significantly improve the radiology workflow. But one of the major challenges facing healthcare organization as they invest in PACS and other enterprise communication systems is the lack of integration between their clinical applications and these systems.
In addition, while PACS streamlines the radiology workflow, the systems also remove “in-person” communications between radiologists and physicians.
That radiology workflow communication gap can prohibit healthcare organizations from providing quality patient care, according to the webinar Creating a Collaborative Imaging Environment sponsored by McKesson and featured on the Aunt Minnie Online Symposia.
Best Practices for Implementing a PACS Replacement
It’s a common scenario for healthcare organizations, large and small. An organization decides to transition from film-based imaging and implement a first-generation Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). The process is quick and simple. Plus, the organization experiences a laundry list of short-term benefits, from increased efficiency to cost savings.
But, as recent rt-image article “Here We Go Again” points out, eventually organizational leaders realize something’s off: Long-term productivity benefits cannot be experienced from simply incorporating the film-based workflow into the new PACS workflow. A PACS replacement is needed.
EHR Video: The Key to Successful PACS Integration
The key to effective medical imaging implementation is integration with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and making images available across the enterprise, according Dr. Gary Wendt in this EHR video presentation, “Enterprise Archive: A Uniform Image-Archive Approach.”
Dr. Wendt, enterprise director of medical imaging and vice-chair of informatics at University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggests that the first step—and one of the most vital—to integrating a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) into an EHR is to consider the perspectives of different stakeholder groups.
In the EHR video, Dr. Wendt identifies 4 stakeholder groups and the factors a PACS implementation team must consider for each:
Hospital Forms Regional Health Information Organization With the Help of a PACS
DuBois Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Pennsylvania abides by the “Five C’s” in all that it does:
1. Caring attitude
2. Confidentiality
3. Communication
4. Collaboration
5. Customer satisfaction
The last three C’s were the basis of the medical center’s work in establishing a Regional Health Information Organization, a health organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare delivery as part of a National Health Information Network initiative.
The first step towards forming a Regional Health Information Organization was to implement a full Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and lay the groundwork for an enterprise-wide Electronic Health Record (EHR) system.
Medical Imaging System and Healthcare IT Spending on the Rise
A 2009 Top Trends survey, released in September by Health Imaging & IT and sponsored by healthcare solutions provider McKesson, spells good news for hospitals and imaging centers. Survey results indicate that hospitals and imaging centers have successfully made it through the roughest patch of the latest economic crisis. That’s partly due to the ability of hospitals to serve a wider patient base, thanks to easy, online access to images and reports for physicians.
Even more good news: The survey projects that overall spending on medical imaging systems, IT infrastructure and clinical IT systems will increase in 2010. Overall, the top 5 business priorities going into 2010 are:
Deep Roots: The History of Medical Imaging
How well do you know your medical imaging history?
Modern Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) provide seamless integration between Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and digital mammography, and allow for immediate access to patient images. But advanced medical imaging technology wasn’t perfected overnight—or even over the course of several years.
Four decades ago, early digital radiology pioneers began paving the road to PACS, according to an Imaging Economics article on medical imaging history.
Take a look back on the history of medical imaging and PACS as we know it today:
PACS Implementation Plan: A Little Marketing Goes A Long Way
When the Boca Raton Community Hospital (BRCH) decided to implement a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), the implementation team knew that getting the technology right was just one critical step to success. The team recognized that its PACS implementation plan must also include gaining the buy-in of all staff members.
So the team devised a healthcare marketing strategy to educate and engage both its radiology department and other hospital staff. As part of that strategy, the team created a video with an entertaining before-and-after look at the new PACS.
Children’s Radiology Department Relies on a PACS to Treat the Tiniest Patients
It’s the responsibility of all hospitals and healthcare organizations to ensure patient safety and comfort. But as physicians and staff at children’s radiology centers can attest, treating the smallest patients requires an entirely new level of care.
Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha in Nebraska understands the unique challenges of treating young children: the inability to verbally describe symptoms, the difficultly of remaining still for an extended period of time and the general trepidation of medical procedures. To put their tiny patients at ease, the children’s radiology department uses a mix of simple techniques and advanced technology, including a state-of-the-art Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).
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