by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | February 11, 2019
From the January/February 2019 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“Anything less and you may impact workflow,” Cannavo said.
Radiology departments may also want to invest in their own backup networks to prevent downtime, Siegel said.
“Downtime significantly impacts work in a radiology department,” Siegel said. “It’s important to have contingency plans to allow us to operate independently when we need to. … Before purchasing systems, look at that level of vulnerability. The hospital is so dependent on imaging. Having radiology at least be able to continue operations within the department itself is really critical.”
Alexa of the Dickinson County Healthcare System said that when upgrading, they went with a hosted system to ensure that exams loaded quickly.
“We feared if it was out in the cloud, our doctors might not be happy with the speed in which they were loading,” Alexa said.
Facilities also should realize that burning a CD may become extinct, as most new computers don’t come with CD drives.
“Image sharing is a big deal,” Cannavo said.
Making room for AI
While AI still seems like a tool of the future, forward-thinking imaging departments need to look ahead and consider how algorithms can be integrated into the radiology workflow.
“We’re already using AI-based capabilities around clinical decision support for lung nodules and liver lesion management,” Shrestha said. “It’s there, but there will be a lot more yet that will come down the pike. And AI, done right, will be much more tightly integrated into the very fabric of the clinical workflow.”
Siegel said there are a large number of innovative start-ups creating AI applications. While many of these AI vendors allow radiologists to interface with the applications via a web portal, it’s not the ideal solution for a radiologist who wants to use many applications.
“The PACS vendors themselves need to allow their users to interface with these AI systems,” Siegel said. “Although AI vendors need to have ability to interface with workstations, they shouldn’t have to come up with a complete set of interfaces for all types of PACS. I think the solution, moving forward, will be the ability for radiologists to pick best-of-breed AI applications that are part of their workflow, with the ability to be able to designate certain types of studies for certain types of AI applications.”
This also means that radiologists and healthcare providers will have even more to think about when it comes time to purchase a new system in the years to come.
“There’s no doubt that PACS is going to look different in five to 10 years than it does now,” Siegel said.
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