PACS Radiology Answers the Call
While radiology has always been patient-centered, there is a call today for providers to extend an even more patient-centered ethic into their day-to-day processes. Will the focus on this change the way PACS radiology operates?
A recent RSNA session brought attention to patient-centered care objectives, leading one medical professional to say that radiologists who heed the patient-centered call are embracing a new mindset of value vs. volume. Considering the patient experience holistically from first contact through receiving reports to follow-up communication is what should be on everyone’s agenda.
This new mindset can improve patient care, improve communications between all medical professionals and the patient, and create a more thorough awareness of the essential role that radiologists play.
One of the presenters at the RSNA session focused on radiology, which can be a “scary maze” for patients, and the providers have the power to make the experience a little easier and a lot less daunting. The American College of Radiology Imaging 3.0 Initiative has been set up to guide providers through the process to change the way radiology is handled, from a patient-centered perspective.
From the IT perspective, gaining more access to images without the hassles of proprietary roadblocks is something that can be achieved with PACS radiology technology in the cloud. Not only are the best ones built with vendor neutral architecture, which clears the usual roadblocks when it comes to sharing images, they’re also scalable, which means even the smallest providers can afford cloud-based solutions.
PACS radiology vendors using cloud-based technology offer highly scalable picture archiving systems that affect small image centers all the way up to large, multi-hospital groups. The perk is that even the most budget-challenged facility can get access to top-notch solutions. These are solutions that offer redundancy, archiving and data routing, and excellent security features.
Some might say that redundancy in PACS radiology is the backbone of a system. PACS that are designed to manage the aggregation of DICOM studies with auto-routing are giving providers the patient-centered care they are striving to offer.
PACS radiology integration is also important to more and more providers today. Cost savings solutions don’t do much for a provider if they are required to bring in new systems to work with new solutions. The best vendors are providing a PACS radiology solution that works with existing medical information systems. The best vendors are bringing in WADO, modality work list, and report converter into the mix.
If you’re in the market for a solution that will cover all your bases, make sure your vendor offers RIS, PACS, Mammo PAC, 3D and other applications on a single-database platform. Also, make sure the solution is hardware independent and that your IT department can choose the products they prefer to support.
OffSite Image Management is a company that focuses on a 360-degree solution for all of our clients. Our approach to PACS is industry leading, and we can work with everyone from the smallest rural provider to the largest hospital groups. Contact us today and let’s discuss how we can address your needs.