Has PACS Isolated Radiology? You Decide.

Cloud PACS Could be the New Norm

Recently healthcare professionals have questioned whether PACS has had and continues to have a negative impact on radiology. A recent article published on a San Francisco radio station’s website suggested the conversion to digital technology has also had a negative effect on patient care.

Specifically, the article focuses on radiology as the earliest adopter of computer technology. If you have been in the healthcare industry long enough, you will know that there was a time when physicians would take films to the radiology department and talk one-on-one with radiologists about what they were seeing on the film. However, with the arrival of PACS, physicians today might not even know where the radiology department is located.

It’s important to note that PACS has opened up a number of doors that have improved patient care. There is more flexibility with the interpretation of images. CT scans, for instance, can be viewed with different contrast levels to reveal what was impossible to see on film.

However, PACS has also provided a number of opportunities that require problem solving. The introduction of PACS has isolated referring physicians from radiology, which is disconcerting to some physicians who are told to refer to a report rather than study an image with a radiologist.

Radiologists who have been around for more than a couple of decades have experienced a large change in that they are increasingly isolated. Some can go an entire workday without speaking to another healthcare professional.

To fight the isolation, some radiologists are pursuing moving their reading stations out of their isolated area and into clinical areas and training their staff on how to be more customer friendly (physician friendly). They are also looking into technologies that can improve communication between the radiologist and the clinician.

What might be more of a concern for many healthcare professionals is the fact that PACS can’t do everything that is asked of them. One of the largest challenges is that PACS from different vendors won’t communicate, and this can occur from department to department.

One of the most productive fixes to these challenges is coming via cloud computing. When hospitals and clinics work with cloud-based vendors of image management solutions, they bypass all the proprietary issues that crop up with on-site PACS.

At OffSite Image Management, Inc., we take communication seriously. Our cloud-based, 360-degree solutions give our clients everything they need to improve patient care, up their disaster recovery game and gain access to images 24/7. Find out more about our services by contacting us today.