A computer utility for automated retrieval of radiology reports

Many radiology information systems (RISs) installed during the 1980s have a user interface that is crude by today's standards. We explored improving this user interface by using the local processing power of the personal computer. In this article we describe a computer program that significantly enhances the ease of report retrieval by automating much of the interaction with our RIS, which is IDXrad.

The program, named DERVISH, runs under DOS on International Business Machines-compatible personal computers having an 80286 or faster processor, an enhanced graphics adapter or video gate array display, two serial ports, a mouse, and a bar code wand. It is written in the C++ programming language. Input may be keyboard, mouse, or bar code wand, and reports may be displayed singly or multiply and printed to a local printer or an RIS printer or copied to a disk file. DERVISH not only performs many of the routine tasks of an RIS session such a logging on and off but also provides a menu-driven environment for report display, including optional restriction of the report list to related prior reports. Keyboard use is minimized in favor of a mouse and a bar code wand. DERVISH emulates a standard RIS terminal for functions other than report retrieval.

Originally intended to help retrieve the prior radiology reports of a patient at hand, DERVISH has found use in our quality management effort as well, simplifying comparison of reports from related radiologic techniques. An early version suffered poor acceptance because of its nonstandard interface and frequent malfunctions. The current version is presently in use in our emergency radiology department.

DERVISH serves not only as a useful utility in itself but also as a demonstration of the ability of the local processing power of a desktop computer to improve the user interface of an aging RIS and to extend its functional life.