Related Experiment Videos
Do picture archiving and communication systems improve report turnaround times?
1Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA.
Journal of Digital Imaging
|June 10, 2000
Summary
Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) significantly reduced preliminary radiology report turnaround times by 85%. However, PACS did not impact the final report turnaround time for abdominal and pelvic CT scans.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Radiology Informatics
Background:
- Radiology departments are adopting new technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
- Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) offer immediate image availability, potentially speeding up report delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of PACS implementation on the turnaround time for radiology reports.
- Specifically, to determine if PACS reduces the time for referring clinicians to receive preliminary and final reports for abdominal and pelvic CT scans.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective study analyzed 6,022 abdominal and pelvic CT scans over two 1-year periods.
- The first period used hard-copy film interpretation, while the second utilized PACS.
- Voice recognition software was used for dictation in both periods.
Main Results:
- Preliminary report availability decreased from 3.73 days (hard-copy) to 0.56 days (PACS), an 85.0% improvement.
- Final report availability showed minimal change: 5.49 days (hard-copy) versus 5.97 days (PACS).
Conclusions:
- PACS implementation significantly improves the availability of preliminary radiology reports.
- PACS does not appear to affect the turnaround time for final signed reports by board-certified radiologists.