A comparison of the time required by radiologists for the preparation of clinico-radiological meetings when film and PACS are used

The hypothesis was that when a hospital-wide Picture Archive and Communications System (PACS) is used, preparation for clinico-radiological meetings is faster, and more images are available, than when a conventional film system is used. This paper reports a study which compared the preparation time by radiologists when film was used with the time for the same activity when a hospital-wide PACS was used at Hammersmith Hospital for the preparation of the respiratory medicine and hepato-biliary meetings. It was found that when PACS was used the time per patient to prepare for the respiratory medicine session was reduced by 11.1 min and that similarly, 16 min per patient was saved in the preparation of the hepato-biliary sessions. The number of images which were unavailable for the session was reduced when PACS was in operation, but this reduction was not shown to be statistically significant. The introduction of PACS at Hammersmith Hospital has significantly reduced the time spent by radiologists in preparing for the two clinico-radiological sessions studied and, if this is extended to the other numerous sessions held each week, contributes to a considerable saving of staff time within the radiology department. (orig.)