The process of transitioning to digital operations in a clinic setting

Transitioning to digital imaging operations in a department of radiology is often difficult for many radiologists, but it is a change that many have made effectively. Transitioning to digital operations in a clinic setting is even more difficult for the referring physician operating a business in the clinic. This paper will discuss our experience with transitioning several off site clinics to digital imaging operations. We will discuss the process followed to identify the physical equipment required to support clinic operations in a digital imaging environment, the process followed to help the physicians adjust their work patterns to allow them to practice in a digital imaging environment, and the benefits and pitfalls of implementing digital imaging in an off site clinic. Four off site clinic locations will be evaluated: 1. cancer clinic located immediately adjacent to the main hospital that relies heavily on CT and MRI images in their practice, 2. small clinic located about 60 miles from the main hospital that acquires xray images on site, 3. larger clinic located about 20 miles from the main hospital that acquires xray, MRI and CT images on site, 4. sports medicine clinic located about 2 miles from the main hospital that acquires xray images on site. Each of these clinics has a very different patient clientele and therefore operates differently in nearly all aspects of their daily operations. The physician's need for and use of film and digital images varies significantly between the sites and therefore each site has presented different challenges to our implementation process. As we explain the decisions that were made for each of these sites and reveal the methods that were used to help the physicians make the transition, the readers should be able to draw information that will be helpful to them as they make their own transition to a digital operation.