Impact of PACS deployment strategy on dictation turnaround time of chest radiographs.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to measure the impact of a picture archive and communication system (PACS) on dictation turnaround time of chest radiographs in a multisite hospital and relate variations across sites to local factors and implementation strategy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The multisite hospital is composed of three sites. Dictation turnaround time was calculated by using data obtained from the radiology information system for examinations performed during three 90-day periods (immediately before PACS implementation, immediately after PACS implementation, and 1 year after implementation). Productivity, expressed as number of examinations dictated per full-time-equivalent radiologist, also was calculated. For each 3-month period, average interval delay was calculated. Values for average interval delay obtained during the different pre- and post-PACS periods were compared by using analysis of variance. This was done for each hospital. RESULTS: In the immediate post-PACS period at site 1, dictation turnaround time decreased 5% (P < .05), whereas productivity decreased 16.5%. The implementation strategy was revised for the next two sites, and dictation turnaround time decreased 21% (P < .001) in both sites in the immediate post-PACS period. Productivity increased 2% and 3% in these sites. One year after implementation, decreases in turnaround ranged from 28% to 55% (P < .001) in the three sites. CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that PACSs cannot be isolated from their contexts; therefore, implementation strategy matters in the realization of projected benefits. In addition, regardless of differences in film-based environments before PACS, all three sites benefited from conversion to filmless operation, with the greatest benefits seen in the site that was least efficient before implementation.[1]References
- Impact of PACS deployment strategy on dictation turnaround time of chest radiographs. Lepanto, L., Paré, G., Gauvin, A. Academic radiology. (2006) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg