Utility of an informational intranet in a radiology department

The authors performed this study to assess the usefulness of the various features of their radiology department intranet and to quantify its effect in facilitating intradepartmental information flow.

The number, length, and nature of visits to each directory on the intranet were recorded by a commercially available intranet analysis software package.

During the last 6 months of 2001, 89,411 page views (mean, 485 per day) occurred during 26,344 visits to the radiology department intranet. The most commonly accessed features were billing code lists (29% of total views); the intranet home page (27%); faculty telephone and pager numbers (2.6%); digital dictation access codes (1.6%); and magnetic resonance imaging protocols (1.5%). A total of 32,408 files, including daily clinical assignments, monthly fellow and resident schedules, and protocol forms, were downloaded as portable document files by intranet users.

The intranet has proved an invaluable addition to the authors' departmental infrastructure, as evidenced by its extensive use by the staff. It has facilitated the rapid dissemination of information without hard copy.