Flying blind: using a digital dashboard to navigate a complex PACS environment

Radiology workflows have become more distributed and complicated, and fewer tangible cues are available to the radiologist to help optimize task prioritization and selection. Additionally, faster scanners, more detailed exams, and increased demand for imaging services have precipitated a potential image overload for today's radiologists who are pressured to provide efficient, quality service in less time. Radiologists are faced with the task of operating within complex systems but are lacking tools to efficiently and effectively monitor these systems in real time. Dashboard technology can help address this deficiency in radiology and facilitate informed, optimized decisions about workflow. Possible areas of application include workflow consolidation, workload distribution, and urgency evaluation. Dashboards should be optimized, context-sensitive, customizable, and workflow-integrated. Further research is needed to identify the most important dashboard metrics, determine their optimal display, and validate their utility.