Originally published on JS PACS, March 7, 2009. Part of the Radiology Workflow series. The two diagrams from the original post, a pros-and-cons table and a workflow chart, did not survive the archive.
One of the lesser-used functions of many PACS systems is a paperless radiology workflow. This page discusses some of the things you should consider when developing a paperless workflow for your radiology department. Paperless workflow can shave time off report turnaround, a very important metric for measuring quality in any radiology department.
An analysis of the documentation that travels through the radiology department turns up quite a few documents. The most common include:
- Patient questionnaires for MRI
- Contrast reaction forms for CT
- Consent forms
- Ultrasound worksheets
- Procedure requisitions
All of these documents become part of the patient’s record or get turned in to the radiologist so that the study can be read. A radiologist who must wait to have documents in hand before reading a study loses time, which comes from the time it takes a technologist to get the documents to the radiologist.
When a paperless solution is deployed, the radiologist has those same documents in PACS when they open a study to read, and a quicker report turnaround can be achieved.
How document scanning is deployed is a big decision in itself, since you gain certain benefits and pay certain prices with either an integrated or a third-party solution. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
Once you have figured out the type of document scanning you need, select it and then focus on the workflow.
It is up to the radiology department as a team to develop the best workflow around the paperless solution. It is up to you as the PACS administrator to make sure that everyone making the decision knows the pros and cons of each choice. Sometimes the choice is driven by the functionality of the PACS, other times by cost, and other times by radiology need. Think about the choices wisely and pick the scanning solution that best fits your needs, but do pick one. Your department cannot afford to be paper-driven.