Coping with PACS downtime in digital radiology

Area of Science:

• Radiology Informatics
• Health IT Infrastructure
• Medical Imaging Technology

Background:

• Radiology departments increasingly depend on Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS).
• System downtime poses significant operational risks, potentially paralyzing departmental functions.
• Complete conversion to soft copy interpretation, except for mammography, heightens vulnerability to PACS failures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present experiences and strategies for managing various types of PACS downtime.
• To offer insights from a large radiology department that has fully adopted soft copy interpretation.
• To emphasize the necessity of preparedness for inevitable system failures.

Main Methods:

• Documenting and analyzing diverse PACS downtime events within a large academic radiology department.
• Implementing and evaluating contingency strategies during system outages.
• Focusing on a department with comprehensive soft copy interpretation across most modalities.

Main Results:

• PACS downtime, while unpredictable, can be mitigated through strategic planning and response.
• Specific protocols and workarounds were developed to maintain essential departmental operations during failures.
• The department successfully navigated various downtime scenarios, maintaining a functional workflow.

Conclusions:

• Minimizing but not eliminating PACS failures necessitates robust contingency planning.
• Proactive strategies are crucial for reducing the impact of system downtime on radiology services.
• Preparedness is key to ensuring departmental resilience in the face of technological disruptions.