The Benefits of PACS in an Orthopedic Practice

Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS) provide several benefits for orthopedic practices. At the most basic level, PACS eliminates film and associated film processing chemicals and systems. There are no more lost or misplaced films and physicians need not wait for films to arrive via courier or the patient. The elimination of film processing chemicals is also environmentally friendly and normally saves registering with the state for the handling of hazardous materials.

Orthopedic group practices will reap additional economic benefits that reach far beyond removing the dependence on film. A digital workflow can streamline the patient care delivery process and create new clinical and administrative efficiencies. While PACS has a higher upfront capital expense than film processing equipment, orthopedic practices reap several costs savings beyond film over the product lifecycle, such as film processing equipment maintenance and storage for archived film. There are also intangible costs savings such as higher staff efficiency levels from the elimination of redundant tasks and medical errors due to the availability of patient information at any time and from any where. Reducing waiting time between exposure and availability of images for physician review increases the level of patient care and bottom line revenues.

The quality of patient care is enhanced with the ability to review patient images and reports prior to the patient encounter, leading to a more patient-focused approach during the office visit. Today, many patients also expect to be able to leave an office with a CD containing their images and many will arrive with images on CD from other facilities. Images from the outside can normally be imported into the PACS, providing a more complete patient record. In many instances, images are available on the PACS almost immediately after the imaging study is complete. Clinicians can review those images with the patient or transmit to a specialist for consultation. This can also speed time to diagnosis and ultimately treatment since the clinician is not waiting for the film development or delivery. In a Surgery room environment, a Surgeon can bring up the images any where, make annotations and save them in the digital patient file. While in surgery, the surgeon can access the images electronically via a web client. There is no transport of film, no concern about misplacing the patient jacket. This increases the focus on the patient resulting in superior delivery of care.

If the orthopedic practice owns and operates imaging equipment, a digital PACS environment can also make the technologist more efficient and productive. Physician orders are typically scanned into the PACS, and patient information is brought in from other systems such as a practice management system if an HL-7 interface is established. This eliminates manual entry of patient information, reducing errors and increasing patient safety. The technologist also has a higher level of quality control as the images can be viewed immediately on the tech's console. This allows for instant retakes and reduces the number of patient call-backs for studies that are not of diagnostic quality.

Digital images, with annotations and templating tools visible, can be displayed virtually anywhere through a Web viewing application - on the physician's desktop or in the OR. With this capability, the surgeon can be assured that any markups made during surgery planning will accompany the study no matter where the physician chooses to review the images.

The availability of Web viewing clients for PACS lets the referring physician and in some cases the patient to view images and reports via a secure portal. This capability often leads to better customer service to both the referring physician and the patient, which results in higher levels of customer loyalty and physician referrals.

Regulatory compliance is a crucial factor to consider as well.. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that all facilities have the means to rebuild datasets after a disaster (man-made or natural) and continue business operations. This is referred to as a Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuance (BC) plan.

A strong DR and BC plan will eliminate operational concerns thus ensuring lost revenue potential is kept to a minimum. Today, a PACS is quickly becoming the standard of care.

Please look for next month's article where we discuss the ABC's of implementing a PACS.