Picture Cancer Hospital
Picture Archiving and Communication System Introduced to a New Japanese Cancer Center Hospital
Abstract
This article has been chosen by us for our study because it emphasizes on the growing awareness of the Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). This article puts forth the fact that PACS has proven to be the reliable alternative for the conventional film-based services and other paper based services for the newly started hospitals and is attracting more and more of the practitioners to apply it in their organizations. This software helps the management of Shizuoka Cancer Center Hospital (SCCH) to effectively manage the hospital without the use of any kind of paper and films. The article also focuses on the efficiency of PACS with which a large number of patients and their data can be handled and treated during a given period.
Critique
In this article on PACS the author specifies that with the help of this system data can be managed, retrieved and stored very efficiently. With the help of central server and the web- based network, the data can be accessed in different locations with the entry of the required details in just three to five seconds. The author has also specified that there is the need of special training to be imparted to the users of this system in order to navigate through the reports generated by the system at different terminals in the SCCH because of the complexities involved in the system.
The article also reveals that this system is comparatively expensive and even technologically very hard to understand for the Japanese when compared to other countries. Viewing this, there have been many new devices being developed in the market to act as a substitute of PACS but they are cost effective for all and also easy to implement and understand. With the help of this article, the efficiency of the PACS can also be judged, as it serves around 3400 patients in a month.
The article lays emphasis on the fact that in order to avoid the adverse effects of the system on the patients, the acceptability of the system is a must. There has been a discussion made for the acceptability of the system by various clinicians by making them filled up the questionnaire. In the response obtained from the clinicians by responding the questionnaire, about 96.2% had appreciated the imagining system and about 98% scored it high on the basis of ease in handling. The promptness of the system was also appreciated by the most of them.
The article emphasizes on the major drawbacks of the system that though the image is very quickly seen on any terminal after being loaded at PACS, there is a substantial amount of delay in receiving the report of the image. Just because of this reason, most of the practitioners open the image first instead of the report, analyze it all by own and thus changing the whole sole usage of the reporting and imaging, i.e. they use it for the referencing purpose rather than for the diagnostics guidelines. At the end of the article, some suggestions have been made like the use of the information obtained by the clinicians during their direct interaction with patients about their background. This information should also be transferred to the radiologist. He will add this information to the report and thus making the report more informative and reliable.
Reference
Futukawa et al. 2004. Picture Archiving and Communication System Introduced to a New Japanese Cancer Center Hospital. Jpn J Clin Oncol 34(7): 425-428.
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