"Realtime" Radiology by Brian Mullan, MD Chair, PACS Committee Although some consider the practice of Radiology to be the production of diagnostic images or images designed to guide therapy, the real product of the over 200 members of the Department of Radiology is information. It is the combination of a medical image and the radiologist's expertise and interpretation of the image that provides insight into the patient's condition. In the ever accelerating world of modern medical practice, the faster that insight is provided to the clinician caring for the patient, the more it can be incorporatedinto understanding the patient, and the better the patient's care can be. To improve this ability, the Department of Radiology is introducing two new initiatives. The first is the department wide use of voice recognition software for the dictation of radiology reports. With this technology, a written report is available on the hospital information system as soon as the dictation is complete. In the case of a resident dictated report, it is sent out as preliminary until the faculty signs off on the report. In the case of a faculty dictated report, the signed final report is available instantly. This not only significantly expedites the availability of this information to the referring physician, but it markedly improves the administrative functions of the department, including billing and scheduling. This has been in operation in the Chest, On-Line and Critical Care sections since January and will be rolled out throughout the department this spring. The second initiative is the installation of an Internet based image distribution system. This will allow anyone with appropriate access to the INFORMM Patient Record (IPR) access to any digital imaging study acquired in the Department of Radiology. Full resolution images will be distributed via a web-server to any personal computer in the enterprise that has appropriate security access. Thus, whether for clinical decision-making, teaching purposes or patient education, clinicians throughout the enterprise will have full access to the Department's digital images and archive at the convenience of their nearest PC. The web server is currently installed and finishing testing. It will become available for clinician use in late spring. By combining near instantaneous access to the radiologist's interpretation and the images themselves on local PCs, the Department of Radiology continues to stride forward in providing clinicians the resources they need and to improve the quality of patient care.   March 19, 2003
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