Does PACS Make Radiologists Feel Lonely?

The Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) has streamlined protocol and creates comprehensive and meticulous images — allowing radiologists to interpret scans with more precision than ever before. However, the system has also created barriers between radiologists and other clinicians and decreased communication among clinicians of various specialties. Some radiologists consider PACS to be a threat to morale and livelihood. According to Robert Wachter, MD, author ofThe Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine ’s Computer Age, the computerization of medicine has its advantages and disadvantages — on both sides of the spectrum. Here are three ways PACS has made both positive and negative impacts on clinical culture.The Increasing divide between radiologists and other specialists. When PACS was introduced to the Baltimore VA hospital in the 1990s, in-person radiology consultations dropped 82 percent. Since the medium has become so accessible, now other specialists like neurologists, surgeons, and pulmonologists take on the responsibility of reviewing the images themselves without even discussing them with a radiologist.Expedited reading. PACS has eliminated the often futile activity of searching for old x-ray films. In the pre-PACS era, when diagnosing a pulmonary nodule, a radiologist would have to check with other facilities, clinics, and sometimes filing cabinets and garages for long-lost x-ray scans that would confirm if the nodule was be...
Source: radRounds - Category: Radiology Authors: Source Type: blogs